Without A Smile
by melistories
Summary: "I hardly slept last night as it was. Mr. Cullen ran out of the office shortly after I stopped and I thought about boxing up my things but decided to wait until I was officially fired before doing anything rash." "You mean rash like breaking out in a song-and-dance routine in front of your boss?" Rosalie snickered.
1. Chapter One

Isabella Swan was, without a doubt, the strangest person Edward Cullen had ever met. If she wasn't an excellent personal assistant – and she was – he was sure he would find an excuse to have her removed from his employment. The truth was, however, she was the best personal assistant he ever had – and he'd had quite a few. Not only was she seemingly not afraid of him like so many young women before her seemed to be, she was currently openly making fun of him. At least, he thought that was what she was doing. Or maybe she was just crazy? He wasn't sure.

At the present moment Isabella Swan was singing and dancing right in front of him all because he had asked an innocent enough question. Okay, so maybe it wasn't so innocent. He had, in fact, asked it to see if he could get any kind of reaction out of her because he was starting to think that she might be gay. Not that it mattered, but she didn't fawn all over him like most other women. He didn't mind this. It was actually a refreshing change and it was another reason she was an excellent personal assistant.

However, Isabella Swan's lack of interest was unusual and Edward Cullen didn't like unusual. He liked predictable, well organized, and ordinary.

Edward was on his way to a benefit dinner, dressed in a tailored suit that he knew fit him perfectly (his sister Alice told him so when she had him buy it). When he came out of his office to say goodnight to Miss Swan before picking up his date she didn't even seem to notice that he had changed except to say, "Have fun Sir!" So he asked her if she thought his outfit looked proper for this evenings function. She paused, looked him up and down and then - and this was when he was sure her breath would catch and her eyes would widen in appreciation – she smirked.

Smirked!

She looked him straight in the eye and said "You're missing something."

"Really?" He asked, turning around in a full circle like a dog looking for his tail. Edward was sure he had brought everything he needed to change.

"Yes," Miss Swan said with a little grin.

"What is it?"

"A smile."

"A what?" Which really, Edward thought, was kind of a stupid answer because he knew what a smile was. He had smiled before. Still, he felt his response was no stupider than her answer.

"You know, a smile? You're never fully dressed without a smile?"

Edward stood there with his mouth open for a moment as he stared at her and tried to decide if she was being serious. While he stood there Miss Swan quickly rose from her desk, grabbed her umbrella and hat, and came around to stand in front of him.

"You know, the song?: You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile"

Slowly Edward shook his head.

And then, to his surprise, seemingly quiet Miss Swan started singing.

Singing and dancing.

"Hey hobo man, Hey Dapper Dan, you've both got your style but brother you're never fully dressed without a smile.

"You're clothes may be Beau Brummelly, They stand out a mile but brother you're never fully dressed without a smile.

"Who cares what they're wearing on Main Street or Saville Row. It's what you wear from ear to ear (ear-to-ear) and not from head to toe that ma-a-a-ters."

Edward continued to stand in shock and watch Miss Swan singing and dancing in front of her desk.

While she sang she did this little dance with her umbrella and lifted her hat on and off her head while swinging out her plaid-stocking legs. It was like he had his own personal one-person chorus line in his reception area. When Miss Swan came to the end of the 'a-a-a-ters' she looked up at him with her big brown eyes twinkling, hat on her head, umbrella placed directly in front of her with both hands on the handle as she used it for balance and moved her hips from side to side (making Edward notice the swishing of the skirt she was wearing).

Miss Swan started on a series of doot-doot-doos but then abruptly stopped, cheeks suddenly turning scarlet.

It was at that point that Edward noticed his mouth was hanging open. He also noticed that while Miss Swan might be a crazed show-tunes singing personal assistant she was also, just a little bit, adorable.


	2. Chapter Two

**Without A Smile: Chapter Two**

 **Disclaimer** : I'm not infringing, I own nothing - neither Twilight or Annie or anything else recognizable. I'm just playing around.

Thanks for the responses to the first chapter! I honestly didn't think that many people would read it. I'm writing this story as a writing-exercise of sorts so it isn't all pre-written and I'm trying to be okay with that. I don't have a Beta so all mistakes are mine (and if you see any glaring errors please send me a message so I can correct them.)

* * *

"You did what?" Rosalie Hale screeched at Bella over her drink as they had lunch the next day.

The restaurant was loud and crowded and a little too posh for Bella's taste but it was Rosalie's birthday and she got to choose. She also got to pay, a fact which Bella gave up fighting against long ago.

"You heard me, please don't make me repeat it again," Bella groaned. "I hardly slept last night as it was. Mr. Cullen ran out of the office shortly after I stopped. Since the ground, unfortunately, didn't swallow me up I thought about boxing up my things then but decided to wait until I was officially fired before doing anything rash."

"Rash? You mean rash like breaking out in a song-and-dance routine in front of your boss?" Rosalie snickered.

"That wasn't rash that was," Bella paused looking for the right word to describe exactly what it was that came over her last night when her boss questioned how he looked. "Stupid? Crazy? Insane?"

With that Bella started banging her head quietly on the table.

"Stop that!" Rosalie hissed. "You didn't get fired so it can't be that bad and I'm sure in a couple months Annie-gate will be forgotten. Just don't break out any more dance moves in front of him."

"Annie-gate?" Bella started giggling and soon the two were trying to contain their laughter from disturbing the other lunch guests.

Rosalie's status as a high powered lawyer had gotten her used to a lot of the finer things in life but Bella still felt like the small-town girl trying to make her way in the big city. She would have preferred to go to a small deli for lunch instead of some swanky place. Her salary at Cullen Incorporated was impressive and she was very grateful for it. However, she still had student loans to pay, a sick foster father to care for, and she was saving every spare cent that wasn't already earmarked for day-to-day living to follow her dream of one day opening up her own children's theatre.

Sometimes Bella felt like she was living a double life: mild manner (okay, not so mild and maybe a little too quirky) executive assistant by day, stage manager by night. In school Bella had done a double major in Administration and Theatre. When she was really small she thought she might want to be an actress but soon found that she liked having her fingers in all the pies when it came to the theatre. When she coupled her love for theatre with her natural ability to be highly organized and efficient, well, that made her an ideal stage manager as well as an excellent personal assistant.

However her single-minded focus on her goals left some things abandoned by the wayside. The extra year in school to do a double major made for more student loans, and working what was essentially two full time jobs meant that her social life was almost non-existent. She also hadn't really updated her wardrobe since her university days – a fact that Rosalie was often calling her out on.

"I saw a photo of your boss in the newspaper this morning," Rosalie said as she stirred her coffee. "He did look good in his suit, why didn't you just tell him that?"

"I don't know," Bella sighed. "I mean, of course he looked good, he always looks good and I'm sure he knows it. Every woman in the company practically throws herself at him but he never seems very happy about it or interested. In fact it seems to make him uncomfortable and I just thought I could cheer him up."

"Well he is stunning, if you like that highly polished, statuesquely handsome kind of thing," Rosalie said raising an eyebrow.

Bella laughed but then sighed again. "I feel kind of protective of him. Is that weird? I mean, I know I don't know him that well but he is a good boss and always kind, if rather distant, to me. I feel like I need to make his office a safe-zone for him. A place where he doesn't have to worry that every woman is scheming to get into his wallet or bed – especially the Triplets of Bitchville from the 32nd floor. Plus he seems kind of sad most of the time. I guess that is the real reason I went all Glee on his ass."

"Did he at least smile?"

"Ugh. No. He looked rather horrified and ran out of the office," Bella moaned and rubbed her hand across her face. "I haven't seen him yet today either since he had an offsite meeting all morning. So who knows, maybe I am fired. I had better get back to work and find out."

"I'm sure you'll be fine Bella," Rosalie said softly. "I know what an excellent assistant you can be so it will probably take more than a little soft-shoe to get you fired."

"Let's hope so. I really like this job."

Looking to cheer her friend up Rosalie changed the subject.

"How long until opening night?"

With that prompt Bella was off talking about the latest production she was working on: Annie, of course. Which lead to talking about how adorable the little red-haired girl playing the lead was, and how the woman playing Ms. Hannigan was a little too true to character and reminded Bella of the foster home she met Rosalie at when they were kids.

Bella and Rosalie didn't know it but in the same restaurant, in the next booth - although hidden by a large fern - sat two women very much interested in their conversation. Alice and Esme Cullen sat there quietly eating their lunch as they eavesdropped. As they listened the smiles spreading across their faces got wider and wider and their eyes twinkled as they silently schemed.


	3. Chapter Three

**Without A Smile: Chapter Three**

Across town Edward was sitting on a bench eating Falafels with his two best friends Emmett and Tanya McCarty. Tanya was holding court with her boys (as she thought of them) telling the tale of last night's charity gala. This involved tormenting her brother and embarrassing Edward – two of her favourite things to do.

When Edward quickly left his office the previous evening after Miss Swan's little song-and-dance number he was in a bit of a daze. A daze that lasted most of the evening. Unfortunately he wasn't able to go home and think about everything that happened – he had a date, of sorts – with Tanya.

Tanya McCarty, twin sister to Emmett McCarty was Edward's go-to gal when it came to social functions. The two had been best friends since grade school when she stopped the class bully from beating him up. Of course, she was smaller than both Edward and the bully, but what Tanya lacked in size in the fourth grade she made up for in personality and a really strong right hook. It should have been kind of embarrassing to have a blonde girl in pigtails be your protector - that wouldn't be the last time Tanya kicked some ass in Edwards defence – but he had so much else going on in his life at that time that he couldn't be bothered to care.

Tanya liked being Edward's date because that usually meant she got to wear a fancy dress and the booze was always free.

Last night when Edward left work his driver swung by Tanya's apartment to pick her up for the charity dinner they were attending. Edward realized he didn't even know which charity the dinner was for this evening.

"I could have asked Miss Swan," he grumbled to himself. "She would have known."

Edward continued to brood as his driver pulled down Tanya's street and up to her apartment building. As usual, she was outside and ready to go.

"What the hell is wrong with you," Tanya greeted as she entered the car.

"Why? Does it look like something is wrong," Edward responded.

Tanya rolled her eyes.

"You always look like something is wrong," she said. "You just look more wrong than usual.

Tanya grinned at him. "Something happened."

"It's lovely to see you too Tanya."

"That's not a no. Those cats at work still trying to get their claws into you?" Tanya knew all about Edward's fear of the women on the 32nd floor.

"No. It isn't them," Edward paused. He wanted to confide in Tanya, she was one of this best friends after all, but the problem with telling her anything was that he would have to sit through her laughter and mocking before she got to the good advice.

"Okay, promise you won't laugh?" He said.

"Dude!" She laughed and punched him in the arm. "You just guaranteed that I am going to laugh. Now you have to tell me."

Edward groaned internally as he rubbed his arm. He should really know better. For all her teasing though Tanya was a great friend and was always on his side. Edward took a deep breath and told her about the show his assistant put on before he left.

"Oh my god!" Tanya squealed. Edward shook his head to try and dislodge the painful feeling ringing in his ear.

"She sounds awesome! I need to meet her."

"What? Why?" Edward said shaking his head. "No! No way."

"Yes way!" Tanya grinned. "She totally has your number. _Never fully dressed with out a smile_ indeed."

"Tanya, for someone so intelligent I don't understand why you sound like a cross between a valley girl and a frat boy most of the time."

"Whatever! Tanya said with a laugh. "Anyway, we've arrived at this evening's shindig and you have forty five minutes to mingle with me before I ditch your sorry unsmiling ass and find myself somebody to play with. It is hump day after all."

"Hump day?" Edward wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Yes. Hump day. You know, Wednesday, the middle of the week? The hump one needs to get over to be on the downward slope to the weekend? I like to take it literally."

"Of course you do," Edward said while quietly laughing. As they exited the car Edward wondered if Miss Swan took hump day literally too and then he chastised himself for thinking about his assistant that way.

Shortly after they arrived and found Edward's parents Tanya ditched Edward for a giant of a man named Felix. She used the tasteful description: "I'm going to climb him like a tree," as she skipped away leaving Edward shaking his head and his mom and sister laughing.

Now, as the three friends sat in the park eating their Falafels she was currently trying to explain to her boys how good Felix was with his fingers.

"Stop!" Emmett cried. "I'm your brother not one of your girlfriends. I do not want to hear about you and anyone's fingers, toes or any other body part that shall remain nameless." Emmett shuddered and was looking rather pale at the thought of what Tanya was up to the night before – which is exactly why she was talking about it because tormenting Emmett was as much fun as tormenting Edward.

"He was huge too, I really could climb him like a tree. A giant redwood. I practically needed ropes and a harness. You saw him, right Edward?"

"I'm currently trying to burn that image from my mind Tanya," Edward said.

"Tanya I swear if you make me lose my appetite and waste this Falafel!" Emmett said while sadly looking at the wax paper wrapped sandwich. "This Falafel is the best part of my day, please don't ruin it."

"Fine. You prudes, you're just jealous because I'm the only one who is having any sex," she said. "Let's talk about Edward and his assistant instead."

"What's up with your assistant? I thought you liked this one" Emmett asked.

"I do like this one. She's the best assistant I've ever had. She's just a little... quirky." Edward proceeded to tell Emmett the story.

"Is she cute? She sounds cute." Emmett said when he finished laughing.

"She is...," Edward paused. What could he say? Adorable was the first word that came to mind. Or maybe _adorkable_? Although with those big brown eyes looking up at him as she sang she didn't seem so dorky to him. Miss Swan would probably get along well with Emmett. He was fun and kind and he smiled all the time, even these days while he was going through a rough break-up. So that meant he was up to Miss Swan's dress standards. Edward didn't want to think too much into it but he didn't really like the idea of Emmett thinking Miss Swan was cute. Or vice versa.

"She's okay." Edward said while biting into his Falafel to avoid saying anything else.

He was going to pretend he didn't see the look being exchanged between the McCarty twins.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm so touched by everyone who has reviewed, followed or favourited (is that a word?) this story. I'm hoping to keep to a Thursday night posting schedule for a while. It's a good night for me since my Mister is out playing D &D. However, the next couple of weeks are going to be filled with packing and moving but I do have the next chapter almost ready to go so there shouldn't be too much of a lag in posting.


	4. Chapter Four

**Without A Smile: Chapter 4**

The rest of Bella's day was uneventful. Mr. Cullen showed up shortly after Bella returned from lunch with Rosalie and immediately locked himself in his office – which was the norm. The usual parade of women stopped by: Jessica the mail girl with far too many buttons undone on her blouse. Kate the head of HR with some superficial request. Irina from accounting to drop something inconsequential off. Kate and Irina had assistants of their own to run errands for them but most of the women in the company felt that when it came to Mr. Cullen they needed to add that personal touch. Bella was used to them hovering around. Unless it was actually important, Bella tried to keep these women away from her boss. The fawning made her gag and roll her eyes (internally of course because otherwise would be unprofessional) at them.

Normally Bella liked the quiet in Mr. Cullen's office, when she wasn't busy with work for her boss she tried to fit in stuff for the theatre she volunteered at. After last night's performance however, she found it unsettling. When Kate from HR showed up she hadn't been there to fire Bella, nor did she act like she knew what happened. Bella breathed a sigh of relief when Kate left and thought that maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

"Maybe if I just pretend that nothing happened everything will go back to normal" she thought to herself.

* * *

Edward Cullen, head of Cullen Incorporated, Seattle's most sought-after-Bachelor, regular topic of discussion on local gossip magazines and _Five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award_ was doing something he never did (okay, the last one was a joke he often made on himself because all the other accolades were just as ridiculous and not based on merit. Also, he was a closet Potterphile). He was hiding in his office.

Edward often found himself sequestered away in his office during the afternoons when he had lots of work to do and Miss Swan was good about not letting anyone bother him. However, Edward wasn't lying to himself – he was having a hard time concentrating and he really wanted to go get a coffee but he was still a little afraid of leaving his desk.

At 5 p.m., punctual as ever, the intercom buzzed.

"Yes Miss Swan?"

"If that will be all Mr. Cullen I will be leaving for the day."

Edward always gave her the same answer because Miss Swan was so efficient in her work and keeping them on schedule that she rarely had to stay late, today however, Edward found himself wanting to think up an excuse for keeping her at work.

"Are you there Mr. Cullen?" Edward heard her speak, a little tentatively he thought, through the intercom.

"No Miss Swan. I mean, yes Miss Swan, I'm here and no I don't need anything else today," he cringed at his flustered, flailing self. "Have a..." Pause. Gulp. Run hand all over face to attempt to clear his brain. "Have a good evening Miss Swan."

"You too Sir," she replied softly. Her tone was different today and Edward couldn't help wondering if Miss Swan wasn't as embarrassed about yesterday as he was.

He jumped from his desk to peak through the blinds from his office window. As she packed up her bag he heard the sounds of her muttering to herself at her desk something that sounded a lot like "I am such a freaking idiot" and then quickly running out of the office in a blur of plaid tights. He knew then that she was just as embarrassed and he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

An hour later, after he had finished up the last little bits of work he needed to do, Edward made his way to the elevator looking forward to an evening alone. Last night's benefit dinner had been typically boring and filled with the same boring people it always was – Tanya and his family being the exception. He had also found himself humming at the most inappropriate times and his sister kept giving him a funny looks.

The truth was that last night Edward had lied to Miss Swan. He did in fact know the song "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" and he knew it well. When his sister Alice was little she was in love with old musicals and while the 1982 version of Annie might not have been considered old at the time she had an affinity for it more than any other movie. She loved it so much that Edward had learned to play all of the music on the piano for her so she could sing along. It wasn't until Miss Swan's little song-and-dance routine last night that Edward remembered all the time they had spent together when they were younger perfecting their performance. Alice won many prizes in musical theatre competitions and Edward was always her accompanist.

When Edward and Alice first came to live with the Cullen's they were heartbroken and a little lost. Their parents were distant relatives of Carlisle and Esme Cullen and at age nine Edward could only remember meeting them once before. When Edward and Elizabeth Masen died in a car accident without leaving any other instructions on what should happen to their children Carlisle and Esme stepped up and opened their home and their arms to them. Alice was five at the time. For the first year Alice didn't speak at all and Edward would have done anything to make her smile again.

One day Esme took them to the movies, Edward didn't remember which one, but it was a musical and Alice came home smiling and singing. Soon every soundtrack to every musical ever made (or so it seemed to Edward) was brought into the house – and an endless supply of VHS movies. But Alice's favourite had been Annie. Perhaps she could relate to the thought of being an orphaned girl – although she skipped the orphanage and went straight to the home of her very own Daddy Warbucks, or at least Carlisle Cullen, head of Cullen Incorporated. Eventually the singing lead to talking and Alice and Edward found a new family with Carlisle and Esme.

Like any orphaned child, especially one who can actually remember their parents, Edward was never really able to shake the sadness that came with losing both of his parents. He had a good life, a great life, really, but it wasn't until last night that he realized he hadn't had any fun in quite a long time. Seeing Alice dressed up as some crazy musical character and singing her heart out while he played for her – or, occasionally being her partner if there was a male counterpart called for (it took Alice a whole year to be able to sing Little Fall of Rain without bursting into tears – and then laughter at the end at how ridiculous it all was) was a time in his life he really enjoyed. As he sat in his car in the company parking garage that evening Edward wondered when was the last time he truly enjoyed himself?

* * *

 **A/N:** I will admit to being in awe of how many people have stopped by from The Lemonade Stand to read my little story. I can't thank the ladies there enough for mentioning it. I started replying to reviews but life is getting a little hectic right now - which is why I am posting this chapter a couple days early - and I may have missed some people. I read and appreciate each review. I can't promise a chapter next week since it is moving week but I will try hard to get one out. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter Five

**Without A Smile: Chapter Five**

 **Disclaimer:** I still don't own these characters or any rights to any musicals but I do own this plot and a dishwasher for the first time since I moved out of my parents house 20 years ago.

* * *

"Hi, I'm Alice."

Bella looks up from her work to see a small, dark-haired girl grinning down at her. She had been so engrossed in designing the staging for the second act of the show she didn't even hear the girl approach.

"Hi Alice, I'm Bella." Bella sticks out her hand in greeting.

"I know!" Alice says with enthusiasm and a firm shake. "The director told me. She said I would find you here."

"Okay," Bella says drawing out the last part. Alice seems nice and, well, bouncy, but Bella isn't sure what's going on which always makes her nervous. "What can I do for you?"

"It isn't what you can do for me," Alice says continuing to bounce on the balls of her feet, which Bella finds impressive considering the heels she has on. "It's what I can do for you! I want to volunteer to help with costumes."

"Really," Bella replies, her eyebrows shooting up a bit. "That would be great! Our usual volunteer is getting on in years and hasn't been able to help out as much for this production so I have been doing double duty."

Alice does a little jumpy squeal thing while clapping her hands together.

"I'm not excited that you are doing double duty, I'm just excited that I will have the opportunity to help. I wasn't sure because you've been in rehearsal for a while," Alice plops herself into the seat beside Bella and gives a little sigh as though her enthusiasm was wearing her out.

"What experience do you have Alice?" Although in truth, Bella thinks, it doesn't matter. At this point she would take anyone who could hold a needle and thread. The budget for the Moira Street Theatre isn't great and they give even less to the one kids production they do a year, even though the kids production is always very popular.

"Oh, tons," Alice says with a grin. "I have a degree in costume and fashion design and I just moved back from London where I was doing a costume internship with the National Theatre."

"Oh my goodness," Bella says. "What on earth you doing here!"

Alice grins at Bella's g-rated exclamation which she guesses is a result of working around children all the time.

"My husband and I just moved back. He was working on his PhD in history and I was working at the theatre but he defended his thesis and was awarded his doctorate last month and we wanted to come home while he looks for work. We aren't sure where we're going to go from here – although to be honest I really want to stay because my family is here."

"Wow," Bella says with a sigh. "An internship with the National Theatre. That must have been amazing."

"Oh, it was. I got to work on all kinds of productions and meet all kinds of actors – some who were wonderful and some who were dreadful. I learned a lot and am extremely grateful for the experience but I'm not sure I'm cut out for full-time life in the theatre." Alice looks a little wistful when she says this.

"Why not?"

"My husband and I were so busy we felt like we rarely saw each other and that was hard on us. We want time to reconnect and so I'm taking this time to figure out what I want to do next. Plus I can only work in the evenings right now." Alice talked fast but she was cute and Bella could understand her enthusiasm. Even though Bella didn't have parents of her own she wasn't sure she wouldn't want to leave her foster father or Rosalie, whom she thought of as a sister, for very long.

"What's wrong with mornings?" Bella needed to know. Once they got closer to the actual production date they were need to put in time on the weekends.

"Right now I spend most of my mornings, and part of the afternoon, puking my guts up because I'm pregnant. That's another reason we wanted to come home."

"Oh, well, the puking is awful but congratulations on the baby," Bella says sincerely. "If you want to spend some of your nights with us working on our little production I'm not going to say no."

"Thank you Bella!" Alice surprised Bella with a hug. Being a foster kid in the system for the longest time meant that Bella wasn't used to being touched that much. She definitely wasn't used to spontaneous gestures of affection but something about Alice's hug made her feel... something. Bella couldn't even put her finger on exactly what it was making her feel but she leaned into it a bit and wondered when the last time she'd had a real hug like this. Alice noticed Bella's body stiffen and then relax into the hug. Alice hugged her a little closer before letting go.

An hour later the two were still chatting away like old friends. Bella discovered that Alice was two months pregnant and Alice assured her that she would be well into her second trimester when it was crunch-time for the production and she should be feeling fine. "I had better be!" She stated emphatically.

Alice discovered someone she hoped was going to be a true friend. Other than her brother and adopted parents Alice never made a ton of friends growing up. Even though she loved being in the theatre her off-stage personality was actually pretty shy. When Jasper came along during their second year of high school Alice felt like she didn't need anyone else in her life other than her family and him so she never put forth much of an effort. People always viewed her as that weird rich theatre kid.

Alice told Bella that she was so excited when she heard there was a production of Annie going on (she left out the bit about eavesdropping) and wanted to be a part of it in some way. They both talked about their love of Annie and it even came out that they were both orphaned at some point but Alice could tell Bella wasn't ready to talk about her past just yet.

Bella was excited to meet someone who shared her love of being behind the scenes in the theatre. She had a good feeling that Alice wouldn't be the type to judge too harshly should she spontaneously burst into song.

* * *

 **A/N:** I should be packing but I just sent off two articles to work and thought about how this chapter was pretty much finished so I should go ahead and post it! I hope you enjoyed Bella and Alice meeting.


	6. Chapter Six

**Without A Smile:** Chapter Six

Bella's weekend was fairly quiet, which wasn't unusual. She worked on some behind the scenes stuff for the production of Annie, she visited her foster Father, Liam, and she cleaned her tiny apartment while listening to Les Miserables full blast while singing along. Well, it was playing full-blast until Mrs. Shelley Cope, her downstairs neighbour, banged on Bella's apartment door with her cane. Shelley came to tell Bella that after the last Les Miz sponsored cleaning frenzy she'd had a dream where she was Fantine and that Jean Valjean – played by Hugh Jackman - was doing very erotic things to her. Shelly insisted that while she didn't mind the dream she didn't think her heart could take another one like that so soon – she was 80 years old after all.

"I wouldn't mind dying in his arms but I'm not quite ready to go yet," Shelly let out a big cackling laughing. "Maybe next time you could listen to Chicago? I always feel empowered after you have been blasting that one."

Bella laughed and promised to confer with Shelly to find out what she was in the mood for before she started her next cleaning spree.

Having had a good weekend Bella decided that the best thing to do about what happened at work was to do nothing at all. Having lived through Thursday and Friday without Mr. Cullen saying anything about her little show she thought it was time to move on. Bella was tired of feeling embarrassed and timid around him. That wasn't her. Sure she was normally a quiet and reserved person but that didn't mean she wasn't confident in her skills.

So Bella pulled out her favourite pair of plaid tights, pulled on a green dress (that may have seen better days since it was starting to pill and get worn out in spots but she still loved it) and topped it all off with a blue felt beret. When she was ready to leave she put her peanut butter and banana sandwich in her shoulder bag, a smile on her face, and set out to catch the bus to work.

A typical work day went like this: Bella would arrive at the office about 30 minutes before Mr. Cullen. This always gave her the opportunity to start the coffee maker and get his coffee ready. Unless he had an early morning meeting he was always punctual and Bella could have his coffee on his desk hot and waiting for him with any phone messages that were left the night before.

Bella went over her morning routine visually in her mind while she stood on the bus holding on to the overhead grab rail. This was a calming technique taught to her by the therapist her foster parents had sent her to years ago. She still used it to this day. It helped her focus her mind and not concentrate on the bodies that might bump and jostle her on the bus which could sometimes ramp up her anxiety.

With her mind calm and focused Bella entered Mr. Cullen's reception area this morning and stopped short. Pieces of her visualization crumbled down around her. The first thing out of place was that Mr. Cullen was already there. Bella could see this because the blinds to the inner windows of his office were open. That was the second thing out of place. Those blinds were never open. In the six months that she had worked there she couldn't recall a time when Mr. Cullen had the blinds to his office open. As she sat down at her desk she realized that this now gave her a direct view of his desk and, not surprisingly, to him as he sat there typing away at something.

"Good morning sir," Bella said as she stood at his door staring at him wide eyed. "You're early."

"Yes. I am." Edward said.

Bella waited for some sort of explanation but as she stood there awkwardly none seemed forthcoming to what she felt was probably a dumb and obvious statement and not an actual question.

"Would you like me to get your coffee ready for you sir?"

"There will be no need for that this morning Miss Swan," Edward said as he looked up from the e-mail he was typing. "I felt like a latte this morning so I got one on my way into the office."

"Alright, sir." Bella shuffled back to her desk to check the phone messages and get ready for their Monday morning meeting.

As she sat at her desk with the phone tucked between her shoulder and her left ear and her pen poised on paper to take notes she quickly looked up to find Mr. Cullen looking at her.

Both of them quickly turned away.

Bella put down the receiver after writing down the phone messages and walked back to Mr. Cullen's office.

"Here are your messages from the weekend Mr. Cullen," she said. "Are you ready for our meeting now?"

When he confirmed that he was Bella sat in the chair across from his desk and crossed her legs. It was a standard Monday morning meeting. They discussed all his up coming meetings for the week and what he would need from her for them. They discussed what days he would be out for lunch and what days he would like lunch ordered in. They discussed an up coming business trip he was going to have to take and what travel arrangements would need to be made.

Once the meeting was done Bella exited his office, took a couple steps and then turned around and walked back to his door.

"Would you like me to close your office blinds, sir?" She asked as she glanced at the offending windows.

Edward had his head bent as though he were thinking of the answer but in truth he was staring at how the blue lines of her plaid tights crisscrossed nicely with the purple lines as they climbed up her legs to meet the hem of her green sweater dress.

"No thank you Miss Swan," he said looking up at her face. "I'm fine with them the way they are at the moment."

"Of course, sir."

While Miss Swan turned around to walk back to her desk Edward picked up his latte and took a drink so he could hide his smile behind it.

* * *

 **A/N** : Now what is he up to?

I decided to post an extra chapter because there is a good chance we will not have an internet connection at our new house next week. And I'm avoiding all things moving tonight. Even my husband told me to take a break and go write something.

I will admit to playing Les Miserable and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat very loud when I am on a cleaning spree. Singing just makes things better.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Without A Smile: Chapter Seven**

Edward watched as Miss Swan walked back to her desk and he couldn't help but smile to himself. He supposed what he was doing was a little cruel in its unassuming simplicity but damn he was kind of having fun.

Edward's mind had been preoccupied that morning when he arrived at work. In fact, it had been preoccupied all weekend which was why he ended up leaving the house earlier than usual and taking a different route to work. That led to him stopping off at a coffee shop to get a latte. Juggling the latte and his briefcase meant his hands and mind were occupied when he arrived in his office and he didn't notice the blinds to his inner office windows were open until he sat down at his desk. Normally the cleaning crew shut them – or kept them shut, he never bothered to think about them before really – but as he sat there staring at this unexpected change he noticed just how perfect was the view of Miss Swan's desk.

That view prompted a series of 'what ifs' to roll around in his brain.

What if he didn't close the blinds?

What if he kept them open and watched her while he worked. Would that be creepy?

Too creepy or just a little creepy?

What if he opened up this one layer to his closed-off self?

With that last thought he shook his head and rolled his eyes – he could almost hear Tanya laughing at him in his head. He decided it was a little too early on a Monday morning for such inane introspection and he felt silly for all the self-analysis he had been doing lately. Stuff like that was better left up to his brother-in-law Jasper.

As he put his hands on his desk to hoist himself out of his chair, with the intention of getting up and closing the blinds, Miss Swan entered the office.

He quickly sat down again.

Miss Swan had that look of someone who had been walking for a while in cool temperatures – all red cheeked and bright eyed. She wore plaid tights – a theme in her wardrobe Edward was starting to notice – a green dress and a little hat. She didn't see Edward staring at her.

Edward came to the realization that he no longer had any desire to close the blinds.

A couple days later the blinds were still open in his office. Edward had been in a phone meeting for an hour and a half with a company in Japan that Cullen Incorporated had dealings with. He had gotten used to the blinds being open and was training himself to not stare out his window at Miss Swan.

At least not too much.

The thing with Edward was that for all his money and good looks he was surprisingly socially awkward – at least when it came to women. Oh, it wasn't a surprise to his family or the McCarty twins who knew all about his past but to a stranger who looked at him and saw a young, handsome CEO of a successful company it may have come as a surprise.

After his parents died Edward spent a lot of his time and energy focusing on getting Alice to talk and smile again. When she finally did he felt an enormous responsibility to make sure she stayed smiling and talking and singing. The expression 'doesn't play well with others' wasn't entirely true in his case but it wasn't too far off the mark either. Edward didn't bother trying to make friends – the McCarty twins just kind of took him under their wings (or fists). When it came to making friends Alice tried too hard – which made the girls who were in the same grade or older take advantage of her. This drove Edward crazy and made him suspicious of all girls, at least while he was in high school.

Things calmed down emotionally for both of them when Alice met Jasper. At that point she had enough confidence in herself and her talents not to mind what other people were saying. When Jasper arrived at her school he was pretty much smitten with the little theatre girl from day one and while that may not have won Alice any points with the other girls in her grade she was too much in love to care.

Edward was in university when Alice met Jasper. Never wanting to be too far from his sister or adopted parents he stayed in town and attended the local university. After hearing Alice go on and on about Jasper for weeks Edward was ready to either gag her or run the boy out of town. However, when he finally did meet the object of his sister's affection (obsession) he couldn't help but like the guy right away.

With a couple really good friends and a sister he adored Edward never made much effort with women. If he was being honest with himself they kind of scared him. He tried to date in university but most of the girls he met were into partying and he was too focused on studying. Tanya and her friends were big partiers for the first couple years and while Edward found it annoying he was so used to Tanya and her antics that when it came to her it didn't bother him. However, her friends were way too aggressive for his tastes. After university he had a couple girlfriends. Nice girls from good families who were about as boring as they sounded. Those relationships inevitably fizzled when the women realized Edward was putting the least amount of work into it – and that he wasn't going to change.

Truthfully he just didn't know what he wanted in a woman and so for the last couple years he avoided them all.

It was getting close to lunch hour and Edward was hoping his phone call to Japan was going to end soon. He was starving. As he listened to the interpreter go on and on, and taking surreptitious glances at Miss Swan, he noticed his mother walk into the outer office.

"What the hell," he mumbled quietly to himself.

He knew for a fact that he didn't not have an appointment or a lunch date with his mother.

Esme Cullen hadn't been in the office of Cullen Incorporated in over a year. She used to be a regular fixture there when Carlisle was CEO but now that they were both only board members they mostly stayed away. She felt it important to not appear to be coddling her grown son who was fully capable of running the company on his own. So when she wanted to meet her son for lunch she usually just sent him a text. She never bothered with his assistants – she was his mother after all.

Today Esme Cullen couldn't resist marching herself into the office and taking a look at the girl she had eavesdropped on last week. She had seen how flustered her son had been at the charity dinner the night before she had overheard Bella and Rosalie talking in the restaurant. While she knew Edward didn't like surprises she made up the excuse that she hadn't seen him all weekend and was wondering if he was free for lunch.

Edward's eyes were glued to the window as he watched his mother sit on the edge of Miss Swan's desk laughing about something. Miss Swan had looked a little shocked at first when his mother had come in but whatever they were talking about must have immediately put her at ease because now she was laughing at something Esma had said.

Edward could hear her laughing through the door to his office. Her head was thrown back and her laugh was low and throaty and Edward wasn't sure he had ever seen anyone as beautiful as Miss Swan in that moment.

Then his mother looked up and winked at him as she caught him staring through the window. Edward was busted and he knew that some how his mother wasn't there to see him today. Not really.

* * *

 **A/N** : Enter Esme and all that entails. (Alliteration for the win!)

Thanks to everyone for reading. I can't believe how many followers I have for this little story. A big thanks goes out to A Different Forest for mentioning my story and sending some more readers this way. I'm blown away by your comments and your kindness. I had a really hard time writing this chapter, partially due to the move and partially due to the fact that it just wasn't cooperating with me. I hope you enjoy it.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Without A Smile: Chapter Eight**

"His mother said what?" Rosalie asked mid-chew as she and Bella sat on a bench in the park around the corner from Bella's work.

"She asked if I was having any luck removing the stick from her son's ass," Bella said with a giggle as she unwrapped her peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Bella had left the office shortly after Mr. Cullen had physically pushed his laughing mother out the door. She met Rosalie in the park for their weekly lunch date. Rosalie would have preferred to eat at a restaurant but she knew that Bella struggled financially and she didn't want to push it too often. She used her plastic fork to spear the lettuce in the plastic clamshell that rested on her lap and grimaced as she put it to her mouth. Then she watched as Bella ate what was probably her eleventy billionth peanut butter and banana sandwich - the same sandwich Bella made for herself every day - and decided she should try to feel grateful. After all, she could have made a lunch at home too and brought it, no one forced her to spend $8 on a subpar to-go salad.

"I thought the illustrious Mrs. Carlisle Cullen was supposed to be some sort of respectable icon in this city." Rosalie said.

"Esme, as she told me to call her, was hilarious." Bella said once she finished chewing a particularly sticky bit of sandwich. "If she didn't look so much like my boss I would never have thought they were related. She is just as gorgeous as he is but in that classy matriarchal kind of way."

"But way more laid back?"

"Totally. She also asked me if her son was having any more problems with the bitches – her word, not mine – on the 32nd floor trying to get their claws into him." Bella said.

"What? She knows about that?" Rosalie laughed.

"I have a feeling that Esme Cullen knows about everything and not just about the goings on in the company, although she is on the board of directors," Bella said. "I confessed to her that I call the 32nd floor ladies the Triplets of Bitchville and she got a good laugh out of that – but now I'm worried that I might have over-shared. She was just really easy to talk to," Bella said with a sigh. "I bet she is the best mom in the world."

"Hey, don't get morose on me," Rosalie nudged Bella's shoulder.

"Sorry," Bella said. "I guess I'm feeling a little sorry for myself these days. I know I shouldn't. We got out of the system and are doing fine but sometimes I can't help but wonder what might have been if we'd had actual parents."

"I think Annie is getting to you," Rosalie said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She knew exactly how Bella felt but the difference between the two women was that Bella's parents had died and that is why she was in the foster system. Rosalie was taken away from her junkie mom and the mom didn't even care, signing her rights way to the state as soon as they asked her and, as far as Rosalie knew, never looking back. Rosalie thought Bella was definitely more of an Annie "the sun will come out tomorrow" kind of girl – always wishing her parents would come back. Rosalie was more of a Pepper: bossing people around, talking with her fists first and asking questions later.

"Yeah, maybe."

"So how is Liam doing?" Rosalie said knowing it was time to change the subject.

"He's okay. He was having troubles breathing last night when I visited so we couldn't really talk since he was hooked up to an oxygen machine. They are trying to prevent him from getting pneumonia."

Rosalie understood that Bella's foster father's woes were contributing to her melancholy but she didn't know that Bella was also out of sorts because she was feeling confused about her boss. Bella still felt protective of Mr. Cullen but since he left the blinds open in his office she was also feeling something else. She could feel his eyes on her when she worked sometimes and she was pretty sure he was making an effort to engage her in conversation more often. Stilted, awkward conversation, but it was still more conversation than they'd had for the six months leading up to this week.

The more time she spent with him the more confused she felt. She was positive he had caught her looking through the window at him a couple of times. He smiled more too, these shy little half smiles where only one side of his mouth lifted up. Either way he was way too pretty and it was starting to annoy Bella.

As the two women sat there eating their lunches in silence a loud "Bella!" rang out through the park.

Bella looked up to see Alice walking quickly across the park towards her dragging a tall, curly blonde-haired man behind her. The man looked like he was having trouble keeping up but he had a relaxed, albeit slightly bemused, expression on his face.

"Bella, how great to see you here!" Alice said, her face one big wide smile. "This is my husband Jasper." Alice rubbed her hand up and down her husbands arm in an affectionate manner.

"Hello," Bella wiped her hands together hoping there weren't any bread crumbs or peanut butter on them. "Nice to finally meet you Jasper." She put out her hand.

"You too Miss Bella," Jasper said as he took her hand in both of his and shook them warmly. "Alice has told me much about you and the production you two are working on."

"This is my best friend Rosalie," Bella motioned towards her friend as Rosalie stood.

Hand shakes and pleasantries were shared all around.

"We were just on the way to meet my mom and brother for lunch," Alice said knowing that she didn't want to give too much away. "I'm terribly late though but since I can't really eat anything at the moment I think I will be forgiven."

"You have been forgiven for much worse crimes my dear," Jasper said playfully.

"Don't I know it!" Alice laughed. "I'm not afraid to admit that I am the stereotypical spoiled baby of the family."

Bella smiled at her new friend. The two had gotten closer the last couple times they had worked together on Annie and she knew some more about Alice's past. Alice even confessed about not talking for a year and how much musicals and her brother had helped her through the loss of her parents. Bella couldn't help but feel a combination of happiness that her friend deserved to be spoiled and sadness that not everyone gets such a happy ending.

"We must be off though. I'll see you tonight Bella!" Alice said and she quickly turned and hurried off through the park in her four inch heels.

"So that's Alice huh," Rosalie said as they watched the couple walk away.

"That's her."

"You weren't lying about the exuberance - or the great style," Rosalie said admiring the heels. "I'm not sure I'm going to be quite so chipper when it's my turn to spend most of my day wrapped around a toilet puking my guts up."

Bella admired Rosalie's optimism that she would be a mom some day. It wasn't something they often talked about but Bella knew that what Rosalie wanted more than anything was to have a family of her own. The biggest problem was that Rosalie couldn't stand most men even though they always flocked to her.

Bella had resolved years ago that she was never having children. She didn't want to take the chance of giving a child the same fate that she'd had: to be abandoned and left without any one to love or take care of you. In her mind the fear of doing that to another child out weighed whatever benefits there may be. Plus, to have children one actually had to have sex which hadn't happened in so long Bella figured she could probably call herself a born-again virgin.

* * *

 **A/N** : I still don't own Twilight or Annie but I'm okay with that and no infringement is meant.

I'm currently looking for a Beta or Pre-Reader. Anyone interested? I'm re-reading Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott and I can't help but feel weird every time I hit publish on a story that hasn't had another set of eyes go over it. I keep thinking about her chapter on Shitty First Drafts. Still, I did say I was using this story as a writing exercise but I would love some eyes on it before I hit that publish button.

I'm a little late this week but the next chapter is almost done and I'm going to post it as soon as it is finished to make up for not having time to write lately.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Without A Smile: Chapter 9**

As Alice rushed into the restaurant her brother stood up to greet her.

"Late again Alice," He said, but his tone was that of affection, and the smile on his face was genuine.

"I only apologize for keeping Jasper away from his lunch. I was busy puking up my breakfast and won't be consuming anything other than a glass of water and some ginger tea." Alice said as she stood on her tippy-toes to kiss her brother's cheek.

Edward grinned down at his perky little sister with her pixie cut and fashionable attire, complimented by the beautiful smile on her face. She may be in the throws of not-just-morning sickness but he had never seen her look happier.

"Plus we ran into a friend of mine," Alice said giving her mother a surreptitious look which went right over Edward's head.

"A friend," Edward said with mild surprise as he sat down to continue his lunch. "You've only been back in town for a month."

"I know, but I'm volunteering my time and costume expertise for a local children's theatre production, and she's the stage manager. I have a good feeling about her. I think she's my friendship lobster."

Edward was genuinely happy for his sister although he had no idea what she was talking about when it came to lobsters. He thought about asking, but sometimes it was better to let Alice talk and sit back and enjoy the ride. He suspected it was a pop culture reference and he wasn't very good at pop culture references.

"What's the production?" Edward asked.

"Annie," Alice said, hoping that admitting to the production wouldn't give too much away. Alice and her mother wanted to gently nudge Edward in the right direction but they didn't really want to lie to him.

Edward's eyes got significantly bigger as he took in the information. "Really?"

"Yes," Alice said with a straight face even though she was grinning inside. "Do you remember it? I still know all the words," Alice said proudly.

"Alice," Edward looked her in the eye. "I still remember all the words. If our dog Frank were still alive, he would remember all the words. I bet even the neighbours remember all the words."

"Okay, okay," Alice rolled her eyes at him and grinned. "Fine. So maybe I over did it a little with Annie when we were younger, but I was six, so cut me some slack."

Esme smiled at Alice. "Well I'm sure we can all make it out to watch the production, when is it?"

"December 5th to 7th. It's actually a version called Annie Jr. because it is designed especially for kids and it takes place at Christmas. You'll see that it is a little different from the movie we all know and love," Alice threw her brother a wink. "It's really great though, and the stage manager is awesome. She basically runs the whole thing and she is so amazing with the kids."

"Does she have any of her own?" Esme asked Alice even though she knew the answer, she wanted to keep the conversation on Edward's assistant without him actually knowing who they were talking about.

"No." Alice responded, knowing exactly what her mom was doing. "She's about my age, but she is saving all her money to open up her own children's theatre one day. She grew up in the foster system and said it was working in the theatre that really helped her survive."

"Do you know what happened to her parents?" Esme asked.

"She seems reluctant to talk about it in any detail, which is understandable, and I don't want to pry. We have a good time working together and I want to keep it that way. I think she has a sick foster father that she visits a lot though, I overheard her talking to the director about it, but I can't really tell you more than that."

Esme looked at Alice sadly and received a small silent nod from her daughter. Esme had no idea that was the background of her son's lovely assistant. When she had met her earlier in the day she noticed that her clothes looked as though they had seen better days, but the girl was well put together and warm and funny. _Really_ funny, Esme reflected. _The Triplets of Bitchville_. Esme couldn't wait until Edward left so she could share that piece of information with Alice.

"Anyway," Alice continued. "She's totally adorable and I really like her. I think everyone will like her."

"Alice," Edward looked skeptically at his sister. "You aren't trying to set me up are you?"

"No, Edward," Alice sighed. "When have I ever tried to set you up?"

Edward had to concede that his mom and sister were very good about never trying to set him up or pressuring him about meeting someone and settling down. They seemed to be as resigned as he was that he was going to live a life alone, with the occasional fake-date with Tanya.

He thought back to how Miss Swan looked earlier in the day when she was laughing at something his mother said, and he got that tight feeling in his chest again. He wasn't so sure he liked the fact that every one now expected him to be alone.

"Sorry Alice, I know. It's just that I feel like you are trying to sell her to us."

"Don't worry Edward," Jasper chimed in after listening to the whole conversation. He, of course, knew exactly what his wife and mother-in-law were doing. "We know you are quite content hanging out with your right hand."

Edward's eyes went wide again.

"Shows how much you know," Edward said with a shrug of his right shoulder.

All three of his lunch companions leaned forward.

"I've been mixing things up lately. The right arm was getting a little too strong, so sometimes I hang out with the left one."

That sufficiently shut everyone up for a moment, until they all broke into laughter. Jasper grinned big at his friend. He was worried about Edward. The guy used to be more fun, but since he became one of the youngest CEO's in the country when he took over Cullen Incorporated a few years ago, he seemed to have lost his sense of humour.

"Edward, did you just make a joke?" Alice couldn't help but tease her brother.

"Maybe I did." He said as he grinned back at her, but inside he was thinking that it was more truth than joke. He actually did get a cramp in his right hand recently and had to switch arms, but he wasn't going to admit that.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks to the wonderful **Darcysmom** for stepping forward and Beta'ing for me and making things way better. I won't lie, I tinkered some more after her edits so all mistakes are mine. Another thanks to the two people who offered to pre-read. I may just take you up on your offers yet.

I haven't been replying to comments because I have been laid up in bed with a back injury and I don't always know what to say but I read and treasure each and every one. It seems as though people are divided, some are all for Alice and Esme meddling and some are worried about how Bella is going to react. I guess you'll have to wait and see.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Without A Smile: Chapter 10**

Bella gets off the bus at the stop a couple doors down from the Home for Fallen Heroes and takes a deep breath. The last few times she had been here things didn't look so good for her foster father, and she felt guilty for not wanting to visit today. Well, she wants to see him, but doesn't want to witness another day of his struggling to breathe.

"Hey Jimmy," she calls to the man behind the front desk as she opens walks through the door. It is one of those beautifully warm September days and the door is propped open. Bella can see Jimmy leaning into the fan on his desk as he wipes a bead of sweat from his rotund face with a brown bandana.

"It's a good day Miss Bella," Jimmy says to her with a grin and a wink, and just like that Bella's spirits lift. She knows Jimmy is talking about Liam and hopefully that means the pneumonia is passing.

"That's great to hear Jimmy. How are you doing?"

"Not too bad Miss Bella. Not too bad at all." He says as he waves a prosthetic arm around in the air. "The weather is fine and my maker decided I'm allowed to stick around and enjoy it."

Jimmy is always talking about his maker. Bella isn't much of a believer but she likes to think that if there is a God, Jimmy has a direct line to him because he certainly talks like they are the best of friends.

"You go on up and see Liam now. He knows you've been worried."

"Thanks Jimmy," Bella says over her shoulder as she takes the stairs up to the second floor.

The Home for Fallen Heroes is a three-story apartment building that was transformed into something like a nursing home about 20 years ago. It isn't really named the Home for Fallen Heroes (some people call it 'Shot Cops'), but that's what it has been dubbed because it's residents are all men, and the occasional woman, who have been hurt in the line of service. Liam O'Riley, Bella's foster father, was a police officer who was shot two days before retirement by a disgruntled ex-con. Liam likes to joke that if he didn't have Bella his life would be like a country song: lost his wife, lost his dog, and lost his truck.

Orphaned at age four when her father drowned while fishing, Bella spent the majority of her youth in foster homes. Bella doesn't remember having a mother and assumes she must have died when Bella was younger because she doesn't remember anything about her. Bella met Rosalie at a foster home when she was seven and Rosalie was nine. The woman they lived with only took in foster kids for the money, so they were left alone a lot in a house full of kids of various ages. When Bella was 11 and Rosalie 13, the foster mother's current boyfriend tried something with Rosalie that resulted in his broken nose and the kids being split up into different foster homes (that one was closed down). Bella was shuffled around through the system for a while, luckily remaining in the same school as Rosalie. They eventually ended up back at the same group home.

Bella was 15 when Liam and Maggie O'Riley came into the group home looking for an older girl. Rosalie was about to age-out of the system. She already had a full scholarship to the local university, and had been working part-time for years to save money to live in residence. While Rosalie felt like her life was finally about to begin, Bella felt more like the world was ending. Living in the group home without her best friend was about the worst thing she could think of at the time.

Never having children of their own Liam and Maggie were looking for an older girl to foster, one who might be able to help out around the house because Maggie, a former music teacher and jazz singer, was having health problems. Liam was a police officer at the time and recalled working with Bella's father when Charles Swan was a young deputy.

For a couple years things were as close to wonderful as Bella could imagine. Then Maggie's emphysema got the better of her and she died when when Bella was in her first year of university. A couple years later Liam was shot in the line of duty confining him to a wheelchair. Between Liam's retirement fund and Bella's financial contribution he is able to live in The Home for Fallen Heroes and be take well care of, but it makes for a tight financial situation for the both of them.

"Hey sweet pea," Bella hears Liam's slow slur as she walks into the room.

"Hiya handsome," she says and then gives him a kiss on the forehead. It's nice to see him sitting up in his chair today. The last couple times he had been mostly lying on the bed attached to oxygen. When he was shot, the bullet pierced his spine leaving most of him paralysed, this also creates breathing problems for him when he has a cold. He has the use of his right arm and most of the right side of his face, and even though everything is still a struggle for him he can feed himself and make jokes – the two things he assures Bella are all he needs.

"You allowed to go outside for a while today Liam?" Bella asks. "It's warm enough out so you shouldn't get a chill."

When he agrees Bella pushes him toward the elevator and then out the wheelchair exit.

Together they sit under his favourite tree, Bella unwraps Kraft caramels and pops them in his mouth while she tells him how the production is going. She knows he probably shouldn't eat the chewy candy, but they are his weakness and she justifies it by thinking they help to keep the right side of his jaw strong.

"How's work?" Liam asks when he indicates he's had enough of his favourite sugary goodness.

"Oh, you know...," Bella pauses trying to think of how work is exactly. "Good."

Liam thinks to himself that he might be a cripple but he isn't an idiot, and even an idiot would notice the hesitation in his Bella's voice.

"What does good mean? You seem out of sorts." He pierces Bella with his cop stare and she laughs at him.

"Good means... good? My boss has been acting a little strange, and I'm not sure how to feel about it."

"Strange? He not being nice to you? I still have friends on the force you know." Liam grins at her. He says that any time he suspects someone might be treating her unfairly even though he knows how stubborn and independent she is and would kill him if he actually called his buddies.

"Ha. No." She shakes her head with a small sigh. "If anything the strangeness is due to his being nicer than usual. Not that he wasn't nice before," Bella is quick to interject when she sees Liam's expression. "Now though he keeps talking to me, like he's trying to get to know me." She decides to leave out the bit about the blinds not sure how her foster father would react to that piece of information.

"Stop the press, Bella! Trying to get to know you? I'll definitely call the guys on the force and have him checked out." He winks at her with his good right eye. "You know sweet pea, it's okay to let people know how wonderful you are. Adult people. Maybe even men-people. Not just the kids you spend all your time with."

"I know Dad," she says and although she doesn't call him dad often it makes Liam feel 10 feet tall every time she does. Liam and Maggie wanted to adopt Bella, but it never happened. Liam was never more than a Chreaster Catholic but he thinks he might ask Jimmy to put in a good word with his beloved Maker to help Bella find someone she cares enough about to let in. Liam misses his Maggie something fierce and worries that Bella might never have the same thing.

It's just," she pauses and then starts again. "At the end of the day," another pause. She isn't sure she what she's trying to say.

"You're another day older, and that's all you can say for the life of the poor." Liam sing-slurs at her.

Bella eyes her foster father who is grinning at her.

"Exactly."

* * *

 **A/N:** I don't own _Twilight_ or _Les Miserables_ , nor do I infringe. I'm only borrowing and playing around a bit.

Thanks to my awesome Beta **Darcysmom** who has made me discover that I am the queen of run-on sentences. I continued to tinker after her edits so all mistakes are mine.

Thanks to everyone who has commented and followed. I'm in awe of the response. Next chapter will post later this week.

 _So how is everyone feeling now that we have met Liam?_


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Without A Smile: Chapter 11**

Edward read over the e-mail again and hit send.

 _ **To: IMSwan**_

 _ **From: EACullen**_

 _ **Subject: Lunch meeting**_

 _ **Time: 7:15 a.m.**_

 _Miss Swan,_

 _Something came up and I will be in a meeting all morning. In lieu of our usual Monday morning meeting, I would like you to make a reservation at that bistro down the street that starts with an S (Stark's? I always think it is named after Iron Man). If you could make the reservation for 12:15 and meet me there I would appreciate it._

 _Regards,_

 _Edward Cullen, CEO Cullen Incorporated_

As soon as it sent, he took a deep breath. Was this a good idea? Usually, he didn't like having lunch with his assistants, but he woke up in the middle of the night and had this idea. He had this crazy urge to go out for lunch with Miss Swan and see what she was like outside of work. He fabricated a meeting this morning that would keep him out of the office until it was time for lunch. He was still in bed as he typed up the e-mail (and then deleted it, and typed it up again) on his phone.

Then he decided he should try going back to sleep since he didn't really have any where to be. After forty five minutes of tossing and turning, he got up and had a shower.

Another half hour later, he sat in his kitchen and stared at the clock while he drank his coffee. Only three plus hours until lunch. What did people who didn't work do?

Slowly he walked around his living room, picking things up and putting them down. On the mantle was a photo of Alice and him after one of Alice's music competitions years earlier. They looked so young and ridiculous, but also happy. Edward picked it up and stared at their smiles. Those were genuinely happy smiles; Alice had come first place in the musical theatre competition that year.

Edward looked from the photo to his old upright piano sitting in the corner gathering dust. Looking at the smiles on his and Alice's face, and then at his dusty piano, made something go sour in his stomach. He quickly went to the kitchen and got a soft micro-fibre cloth. After his piano was dust-free and shining, he sat down and opened the cover – something he hadn't done in years. Warming up with scales he could feel his love for the instrument slowly sneak it's way back up through his fingers and into his bones.

Abruptly he stood up and went to the book shelf that housed his music books. Carefully flicking through the dusty (he would worry about that later) covers, he found the one he wanted. He brought it over to the piano and plonked it down on the music rack, opening it to the right page as he sat down.

A grin spread across his face as he read the notes and words, his fingers easily finding the right places on the keys as though he had never been away from it.

" _Hey Hobo man, Hey Dapper Dan..."_

Bella sat at the computer staring at her e-mail. Lunch? With her boss? That was... _new_. She couldn't help but laugh at his Iron Man reference. There was obviously an inner-geek hidden away in the quiet man who ran the company. Somehow that made her feel better about trying to make conversation with her boss for an entire lunch. Hopefully they could find things to talk about that were work related and not get too personal.

 _ **To: EACullen**_

 _ **From: IMSwan**_

 _ **Subject: Lunch meeting**_

 _ **Time: 8:31 a.m.**_

 _I will call to make a reservation as soon as they open. Good luck with your meeting. Anything I need to do for it on my end?_

 _Kind regards,_

 _Isabella M. Swan, Executive Assistant to Edward Cullen_

 _Cullen Incorporated_

Edward heard his phone ding and checked the message. Other than hurrying time along there really wasn't anything Miss Swan could do for him.

 _ **To: EACullen**_

 _ **From: IMSwan**_

 _ **Subject: Lunch meeting confirmed**_

 _ **Time: 11:02 a.m.**_

 _We have a reservation at Stark's at 12:15 p.m. as per your request. (I asked if the owner's name was Tony but they said no, his name was Howard and I started laughing and they didn't think it was funny, so I'm sorry if they spit in our food.)_

 _Kind regards,_

 _Isabella M. Swan, Executive Assistant to Edward Cullen_

 _Cullen Incorporated_

It was 12:25 p.m. and Bella had been sitting at the table for 10 minutes waiting for her boss. She assumed that his meeting must have run overtime, but she receive a response from either e-mails. Grateful that she had a book in her bag, Bella still felt self-conscious sitting in the restaurant by herself, and the waiter was starting to annoy her. How many times does her water need to be filled when she isn't drinking it? The last thing she needed to do while trapped in a restaurant with her boss for an hour was pee a billion times.

Edward was so involved with his piano playing that he lost track of time – another thing that hadn't happened in years. When he finally looked up at the clock, he realized he was going to be late. Jumping up from the piano bench he tripped over the music books that were strewn all over the living room floor and checked his e-mail as he ran out the door.

He laughed as he read Miss Swan's words about Tony Stark's father but he knew they had nothing to worry about. He was CEO of a large corporation after all, no one was going to spit in his food.

As he rushed into the restaurant he noticed Miss Swan sitting and reading a book. Once again she had on a pair of plaid tights with her dress. He loved that this was her signature look. Today they were a light brown and green with lines of yellow running throughout.

"Miss Swan, I'm sorry I'm late," Edward said as he pulled out his chair.

"No worries Sir," Bella replied as she quickly stowed her book in her shoulder bag and took out her work notebook. "Did you have a good meeting?"

Edward looked at her for a moment and considered his answer.

"Yes I did, thank you. It was very successful," and he gave Bella a wide smile that left her a little flustered. He definitely looked good when he smiled.

Edward noticed the faint pink on her cheeks as she picked up her menu and hid her face behind it. He did the same to hide his ever-widening grin.

When the waiter came by to take their order, Edward couldn't help notice that the waiter's eyes never left Miss Swan. He cleared his throat and gave the waiter a glare when he turned his attention to him.

"So," Edward began since they had ordered and were sitting there in a somewhat awkward silence. "Tony Stark's Dad owns this place?"

Bella looked up quickly at her boss who was once again smiling at her. She wasn't sure what kind of meeting he had this morning, but she couldn't help but wonder if it involved sex because she had never seen him this laid back before, and his hair was crazier than usual. She supposed he probably made enough where he could have a regularly scheduled meeting with someone and pay for sex. Immediately she had to shut that kind of thinking down or her face would be burning red.

"Apparently. I guess they didn't like that I figured it out?" Bella said. "I mean, all these respectable business people probably don't need to know that the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are meeting in the back room and keeping the world safe for us mere mortals. It's a good front, don't you think?"

"Definitely. We should keep our eyes on the other patrons to see if anyone else with superpowers shows up."

When their food arrived they ate in silence for a while. Bella made little happy noises while she ate that were driving Edward crazy.

"Enjoying your food?" He asked when he couldn't take the humming any more.

"Yes Sir," she said, totally oblivious to the noises she was making as she ate her scallops. "I've never been here before and it's really good. It's been ages since I've had seafood."

"Where do you like to eat?" Edward asked hoping to learn a little bit about his assistant.

"Oh, I don't eat out much but my friend Rosalie really likes Tempesto so we always go there for her birthday. I'm more of a home cooked meal kind of girl I guess."

"Do you cook?"

"Of course. Don't you?" Immediately Bella wished she could take that back. It sounded rude. However, her boss just smiled at her.

"Not as much as I probably should. As you know, I eat lunch out every day and sometimes I cook or sometimes I go to my parents and, you can't tell anyone this, scrounge around in their kitchen looking for leftovers."

Bella sat back and laughed at her boss's admission. After meeting his mom, she could now picture her boss, this stupidly rich CEO, sneaking around Esme's kitchen looking for something to eat.

"Your secret is safe with me boss."

"Where do you like to go for your birthday Miss Swan?" Edward asked. He wasn't expecting the somewhat shocked expression on her face.

"Oh, nowhere really." Bella hated questions about her birthday. "I don't do much for my birthday."

"Well, what did you do on your last birthday," Edward knew he was prying and could see that Miss Swan was a little uncomfortable but he couldn't help himself.

"I went and visited my foster father and we went for a walk of-sorts."

"And when was that?"

Miss Swan looked down at her plate. "Saturday," she mumbled and then quickly shoved a forkful of scallop into her mouth.

"This past Saturday? You mean, two days ago?"

"Yes, sir." Miss Swan's face was red and Edward knew he had to drop the subject that was so obviously making her uncomfortable.

Eventually Bella pulled out her notebook and they discussed the upcoming work week. When they left, Edward realized he didn't learn as much about his assistant as he would have liked.

 _ **To: IMSwan**_

 _ **From: EACullen**_

 _ **Subject: Lunch meeting**_

 _ **Time: 6:37 p.m.**_

 _Miss Swan,_

 _Thank you for meeting me for lunch today. I very much enjoyed our meeting. I was thinking we should make this our regular Monday meeting from now on. I will let you pick the restaurant next time._

 _Regards,_

 _Edward Cullen, CEO Cullen Incorporated_

 _p.s. My middle name is Anthony aka Tony. Do you think we could get a discount at Stark's if we tell them we know their secret?_

Bella stared at her phone while she read her boss's e-mail. What on earth was he doing? She wouldn't deny (to herself at least) that she hadn't enjoyed their lunch meeting but he had never e-mailed her at night before. Perhaps he was still in the office.

 _ **To: EACullen**_

 _ **From: IMSwan**_

 _ **Subject: Lunch meeting**_

 _ **Time: 6:45 p.m.**_

 _I'm afraid I don't know many restaurants that you might enjoy but I will do some research and find somewhere suitable for next Monday. I hope you are not still at work, Sir. Don't you have a fridge to go raid?_

 _Kind regards,_

 _Isabella M. Swan, Executive Assistant to Edward Cullen_

 _Cullen Incorporated_

Soon after Bella replied to her boss she received a ping on her phone. She thought it was weird that Mr. Cullen replied but didn't write anything. There was only an attachment, but when she opened it, she laughed so hard that her drink came out of her nose. The attachment was a photo of a sticky note fixed to a glass container in a fridge. The note read: _**Edward, these leftovers are for your father. DO NOT EAT IT! Make yourself a sandwich and go home.**_

Bella continued to laugh until she fell asleep.

The next morning when Bella arrived at work there was a large bouquet of brightly coloured flowers on her desk. The small, plaid card simply read "Happy Birthday".

* * *

 **A/N** : I still don't own Twilight or Annie. I do, however, have a couple little girls who are getting really good at singing along to Into The Woods. I think we should become a family musical theatre troupe.

Thanks goes out to my wonderful Beta **Darcysmom**. She does a great job fixing my mistakes and then I go back in and probably create more. Next chapter should be out on Thursday. I'm going to try and post twice a week until this story is done.

Have you been reading the entries for the Meet The Mate contest? I may have submitted something... ;) There have been a ton of entries submitted. If you Google Meet The Mate contest it will come up.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Without A Smile: Chapter 12**

Bella was sitting at her desk mooning over the flowers her boss had sent her a couple days before. She had thought about taking them home, but they looked really nice where they were, and she really didn't spend that much time in her tiny apartment anyway.

Bella couldn't recall having ever been sent flowers before, and she felt rather heady from it. She suspected her boss was only doing it to be kind due to her awkward reaction to talking about her birthday.

This was a good week. Liam was doing well, rehearsals were a lot more fun now that Alice had joined them, and her boss was, well, her boss. She still wasn't sure how to characterize him, but she enjoyed all their encounters, and the occasional e-mail since the silly post-it note one on Monday night.

What Bella was trying not to admit to herself was that she was developing a bit of a crush on Mr. Cullen. He didn't seem quite as stand-offish as he once had, and she wondered if she had misjudged him before – something she knew was too easy to do when you didn't really know someone.

As Bella sat spinning back and forth in her office chair, admiring the pink lines in the gerbera daisies, she got a call from Lauren, the assistant to the head of HR. Lauren was usually rather snarky to Bella, and today she sounded down-right gleeful.

"Bella, you are wanted in the conference room on the 32nd floor right away," Lauren said.

"Oh, what's this about?" Bella asked. She didn't usually have to meet with HR. In spite of her boss being in charge of a large corporation, her job was rather insular. She dealt mostly with the other executive assistants for the VP and CFO, both of whom were kind older ladies who Bella really liked.

"Just come down. We are waiting for you," with that Lauren abruptly hung up.

Bella pushed down the panic that such a call inevitably brought up. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong and that her work was flawless – she was pretty sure Mr. Cullen would have said something if it wasn't. Still, she felt something was wrong.

Walking into the 32nd floor conference room, the head of HR, Kate Quinn, her assistant Lauren Mallory, and one of the senior accounting executives Irina Denali were all sitting beside each other waiting. They looked like a smirking triumvirate of evil in fitted power suits.

"Uh oh," thought Bella. "The Triplets of Bitchville are up to something."

"Have a seat, Miss Swan," Ms. Quinn said, pointing to a chair.

Bella felt like asking if there was a problem but obviously there was. She didn't want to give these ladies any sort of advantage, plus she didn't trust her voice at this point, it was bad enough her cheeks were already turning red.

"As you know Ms. Swan, we have a dress code in this company," Ms Quinn started, looking Bella up and down.

"Of course," Bella said. "The code states we must wear business professional attire at all times. Women must wear closed-toed shoes, and if they are wearing a skirt then they must wear hosiery. Short sleeved shirts are permitted as long as they are not t-shirts and sleeveless shirts must be covered up by a jacket or sweater even if they could be considered business professional."

As a stage manager Bella knew all about dress codes and had easily memorized the company's rules. She was a little worried at first since her clothes weren't expensive, and they certainly weren't designer, but she tried to take good care of them. Bella was a rule follower so something like a corporate dress code gave her a sense of peace.

"As Mr. Cullen's assistant you are not dressing to the standards this company strives to uphold Ms. Swan," Kate said with a gleam in her eye. "Sweater dresses, plaid tights, and cardigans full of pills are not proper attire for an executive assistant."

Bella looked down at what she was wearing. It was green dress day. She knew the dress was running out of time but it was still her favourite – especially when paired with this particular pair of tights.

"I'm putting a written warning in your file but you will need to dress in a more respectable manner from this day forward if you want to keep your job."

"I'm not sure I understand," Bella said. "How am I breaking the rules established in the dress code?"

"You look like you shop at a thrift store," Irina leaned forward as she spoke to Bella. "You still look like a university student. A _poor_ university student."

Irina wasn't bothering to hide the disdain in her voice.

"You may be excused Ms. Swan," Kate said and flicked her hand at Bella as though she were an annoying little fly.

Bella _felt_ like she was a poor university student most days. Even though her job at Cullen Incorporated paid well, she was paying off her student loans and helping pay for Liam's care while saving money to start her own theatre. She had help with her education because of insurance money from her father's death, but she still needed loans. Liam had his pension and his insurance money, but there were extra things that Bella paid for to make Liam's life easier that he didn't know about. Extra therapy sessions to keep his muscles strong, especially expensive water therapy sessions because Liam always loved to swim, and his own private nurse that came every other day. These things weren't part of the program at the Home for Fallen Heroes, but Bella didn't want Liam to know that they were costing her extra. Bella didn't mind paying for these things at all and she had the money to do so. When Bella sat down and thought about it, she didn't really feel like she was sacrificing anything because she was young and didn't need much.

However, when she looked down at her clothes she felt her stomach drop. It was true, she did shop at thrift stores. She _liked_ shopping at thrift stores, much to Rosalie's dismay – and she had enjoyed being a poor university student (for the most part). Compared to what life had been like before Liam and Maggie, her poor student days were wonderful.

Bella sat at her desk thinking about her wardrobe and her budget. She had a very detailed spreadsheet about where her finances went: apartment, phone, loan, Liam, theatre, food, fun. Everything was already allotted for this month but she supposed she could move things around a bit when October started. She wasn't going to start shopping where the Triplets of Bitchville shopped though. She would find a higher-end consignment store. Until then she supposed she could wear her stage manager clothes, which consisted of black pants and black tops – usually turtlenecks. She laughed when she thought about it, she would probably look like an office ninja.

Bella was startled out of her thoughts by the appearance of someone at her desk. Of course, Bella wasn't expecting anyone, so she was taken aback by the tall, fit-looking blonde who could compete with Rosalie in the looks department.

"Is Edward here?" Tanya asked Bella, grinning widely because she knew exactly who Bella was.

"No, he has been in a meeting all morning and then has a lunch meeting," Bella replied.

"I'm his lunch meeting," Tanya huffed and Bella's heart dropped into her stomach. So much for trying to pretend she didn't have a crush on her boss. "He's late though, and I can't get him on the phone, so I thought I would meet him here."

"Oh." Bella didn't know what else to say. "Um. It doesn't say on his calendar where you were having lunch."

"Yeah, we have a standing lunch date every week for Falafels."

This surprised Bella. From the look of the woman standing beside her desk wearing an expensive looking suit Bella would have assumed she ate in fancy restaurants like Rosalie. In fact, as Bella looked closely she was sure Rosalie had the exact same suit. This didn't make her feel better about her beloved, pill-ridden, green sweater dress.

"Falafels?" Bella couldn't help but ask.

"Yup. My brother is crazy about them so the three of us get Falafels every week. Edward usually lets us know if he is going to be late or can't make it, so now I may have to kick his ass."

Bella's eyes went wide. This gorgeous blonde looked like a model in an expensive lawyer suit, but was talking about Falafels and kicking her boss's ass. The two images were incongruous in her mind. She knows she should say something, but all thought had left her as she stared with her mouth open like a fish gasping for air.

"I could try and reach him for you if you would like," Bella asks.

"Would you?" Tanya asked, still smiling at Bella. "That would be great."

With something to do Bella feels a little bit better even though this woman is still standing there smiling at her.

"What was your name?"

"Oh. Tanya. Tanya McCarty."

Bella tries Mr. Cullen on his cell phone but it goes straight to voicemail. Just as she is hanging up Mr. Cullen rushes into the office looking harried.

"Miss Swan," he says. "I seem to have destroyed my phone." Then he notices Tanya standing at Miss Swan's desk.

"Tanya, what on earth are you doing here?"

"Trying to get a hold of you. You're late for lunch."

"Oh. Sorry. I was running late for a meeting this morning and accidentally dropped my phone and then stepped on it when I went to pick it up."

"Who are you, Groucho Marx? That's like a comedy of errors." Tanya laughed loudly and snorted, which made her laugh some more.

Bella couldn't help but stare at her wondering what her relationship was with her boss.

"I'm glad you find this so humorous Tanya. Miss Swan, if you could arrange with IT to get me a new phone as soon as possible I would greatly appreciate it."

"Of course, Mr. Cullen. Were you able to save the SIM card?"

Edward passes Bella his crunched phone.

"Can we go for lunch now?" Tanya whines. "I'm starving and Emmett is probably waiting for us crying into his Falafel."

"Still?" Edward asks her.

"Yup, big snotty tears."

Bella watches her boss leave with the gorgeous blonde. As they walked through the door, Tanya leans really close into Mr. Cullen's ear and says something but Bella can't hear what is said. It looks so intimate that she feels her heart break a little bit.

Now she knows she can't pretend she doesn't have a crush on her boss.

They aren't even out the door before Tanya feels the need to start harassing Edward.

She leans in close to his ear. "Yes Mr. Cullen. Right away Mr. Cullen." She says in a low and breathy voice. "Anything else I can do for you Mr. Cullen?"

Edward pushes Tanya away from him as they stand waiting for the elevator.

"Shut up Tanya!" He says through clenched teeth.

"Jesus Edward. How are you not hard all the time around her? She makes me want to switch teams with those big brown eyes and that long brown hair that you could just.."

"You need to stop talking about my assistant right now Tanya!" Edward cuts her off. "Have some respect."

"Jeez. Sorry dude."

Edward looks over at Tanya and she looks genuinely contrite. Now he feels uncomfortable under her scrutiny. A group of accountants enters the elevator while Tanya stands there and stares at him.

"What?" He says when they reach the main floor and the accountants are far enough ahead they can continue their conversation.

"I didn't realize it was like that."

"Like what?" Edward is pretty sure he knows what Tanya is implying but he isn't sure he is ready to admit it yet.

"You really like her." Tanya grins at him. "You _like_ her like her."

Edward rolls his eyes at his friend's immaturity.

"No, it's okay." Tanya says. "In spite of how much of a hard time I like to give you, I want you to find someone you are interested in Edward. That's all any of us want for you."

Edward thinks about this for a moment as they approach the bench with Emmett sitting on it with two Falafels beside him, and one half eaten one in his massive hands.

"What do we want for Ed?" Emmett asks with a mouth full of pita, pickled radish and tahini sauce.

"For him to find someone to be with." Tanya says seriously. "I believe I just met her."

Edward doesn't know what to say, so he just shrugs and reaches for his Falafel as he takes his spot on the bench. The truth is he's been thinking for a while now that Tanya might be right.

* * *

 **A/N** : A bit late but my wonderful Beta **Darcysmom** is having a busy and stressful week. You should go find her on Twitter and say Hi to make her feel better. She stayed up late last night to edit this chapter so we could all enjoy it before the weekend.

Poor Bella. How is every one doing?

See you on Monday!


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Without A Smile: Chapter Thirteen**

Edward was in an off-mood. The whole feel of the office was wrong, and it was all his assistant's fault.

It started on Friday. Friday was blue dress day, and that was his favourite outfit even though it meant he wouldn't see Miss Swan for two whole days. Edward didn't even realize he had catalogued his assistant's outfits and knew what she wore on a daily basis until he showed up at work on Friday morning to a Miss Swan who was clad in all-black.

A black long-sleeved top tucked into black pants with a thin black belt at the waist. No dark-ish blue (he didn't know the name but it wasn't navy) dress that did this criss-crossy thing across Miss Swan's chest that was slightly sinful in a really innocent way.

Friday was supposed to be blue-dress day, and there was his assistant looking like a ninja. Sure, she looked like a really pretty ninja, but she didn't look like herself and it was off-putting. Edward was only slightly surprised to find out how much he had been enjoying blue-dress day.

Edward had to remind himself that he didn't really know what Miss Swan was like (although he was making a concerted effort to change that fact) and maybe she needed to do laundry.

However, Monday it was the same, and even though he wanted to ask her about her change in style during their lunch meeting (which was wonderful, truly his favourite part of the week now), he couldn't find the courage.

On Tuesday morning, when he arrived to see Miss Swan once again in a pair of black pants and a black short sleeved blouse, he couldn't help but ask, "Is everything alright Miss Swan?"

"Yes, Mr. Cullen." She looked up at him from her seat behind her desk, a small crease furrowing her brow.

"That foster father you mentioned. He's, um, doing all right is he?" Edward wondered if he sounded as stupid as he felt, but really Miss Swan was dressing like she had gone into mourning, although she seemed happy enough most days.

Bella's eyes widened and the furrow between her brow got deeper.

"He is doing just fine Sir. Why do you ask?"

Edward knew he had to drop the subject.

"Oh, just making conversation," he said. "You don't seem like your usual, um, bright self these days."

"Are you saying I'm acting dim Sir? That I'm stupid?" Bella couldn't help but ask with an arched eyebrow. She was starting to become suspicious that her boss might be talking about her clothes but she had a hard time believing he ever noticed what she wore.

"No! Not at all Miss Swan. I just meant... Nothing. I meant nothing. Could I have a coffee?" Edward scurried into his office.

Bella silently laughed at the exchange, sometimes her boss was really cute.

Edward thought about staging an intervention if the green dress didn't reappear on Thursday.

Tuesday night found Bella and Alice sitting at the stage manager's desk across from the stage when the director came up and sat down in a theatre seat.

"I have some really bad news ladies," the older woman said while shaking her head. "Mrs. Pierce, our accompanist has broken her hip and is on bed rest for the next month at least."

"Oh no, that poor woman," Bella groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "I don't suppose you play piano as well as work magic with costumes do you Alice?" Bella asked as she looked up at her.

By the way Alice was grinning Bella was wondering if maybe she did play the piano.

"I don't," Alice sing-songed, "but I know someone who does, and I'm sure he can come and fill in Margery's shoes."

"Really?" asked Bella sitting up straight and looking at Alice excitedly. "Who?"

"My brother!" Alice squealed and stood up quickly. "I'll go call him right now."

"That would be great if she could get that to happen," the director said as they watched Alice run away. "Can I leave you two to work it out Bella?"

"Of course."

However, Alice didn't call her brother right away – she called her mom.

"Mom! Mom! Mom! " She squealed into the phone when Esme answered. "The best thing ever has happened, our accompanist has broken her hip."

It took a moment for Esme to figure out why someone breaking their hip was a good thing, but she knew her daughter, and she didn't need Alice to tell her what she was thinking.

"Oh Alice. Really? Do you think you can convince him to do it?"

"I'm sure of it Mom ! He used to love playing the piano and this is just what he needs."

Edward wasn't answering his phone when Alice called that evening, but she left a rather excited and indecipherable message. The next morning he was at work when he called her back. He stared out his inner office window at a Miss Swan in a black skirt, black shirt, and - this was the worst part - black tights.

"Alice what is so important? I think you broke my eardrums when you called last night. I don't even know what your message said."

"Well, you know that children's production I am volunteering at? The accompanist broke her hip and they need someone to replace her." Alice paused and held her breath.

"Alice," Edward said drawing out her name. Alice didn't let him finish.

"Please Edward. Please, please, please, please do this with me."

"I don't know Alice, it's been so long since I've played for anyone," Edward said feeling all kinds of doubts creep into his mind. The thought was intriguing, but he wasn't up for embarrassing himself these days. "Also, what if something comes up at work?"

"The time commitment isn't crazy. Right now it is only two nights a week, although that will pick up once we are closer to production. The stage manager is still undecided if we will be using recorded music for the production, but she likes live music better because the kids can't always keep time with a recording. I _know_ you know the music. Please say you will at least meet the stage manager and talk to her?"

"The stage manager who is your new best friend and recent charity case, Alice?"

"You can't think of her like that Edward," Alice admonished. "She is one of the most amazing and kind people I have ever met. You'll probably end up meeting her eventually, but we really need your help and these kids, Edward, most of them are foster kids. They deserve a good accompanist."

"Okay, okay. I'll meet with her and try out for the position. There is a good chance she isn't going to want me. I'm pretty rusty."

"It'll be great. Trust me. This was meant to be."

"Of course it was Alice."

The next night found Edward standing outside the Moira Street Theatre feeling more excitement than he had in a long time. Since that morning last week when he skipped work for the morning and spent it on his piano for hours, he had been playing more and more. Sometimes it was favourite classical pieces, but more often than not it was the show-tunes he used to play for Alice. Even though he was playing for himself it somehow made him feel less lonely than he had in a long time.

"I'm always playing by myself," he thought to himself with a self-deprecating snicker.

As he walked into the theatre he was hit with memory after memory of being in similar theatres with Alice when they were younger. There was a good chance one of her productions had even been in this theatre. He walked down the aisle to where he could see the stage manager's desk was set up. Alice was standing (bouncing) and talking to a slight woman with long dark hair. Alice looked up when she noticed his approach.

"Edward, you're here!"

The woman beside Alice stood up and turned around.

"Bella, I would like you to meet my brother Edward," Alice said rocking back and forth from the balls to the soles of her feet.

"Mr. Cullen?" Bella said surprised.

"Miss Swan?" They both stared at Alice while she grinned back at them.

"Oh," Alice said. "You two know each other already? That's great!" and she scurried away.

"It's Bella is it, not Isabella?" Edward reached out to shake Bella's hand.

"No. Yes. I mean, I've always preferred Bella," she said feeling somewhat shy. She was still holding her boss's hand and it felt nice.

They stood there and stared at each other for a moment before Edward realized that he should let go of Miss Swan's – _Bella's_ – hand.

"Well, Mr. Cullen...," Bella started to say.

"It's Edward. You should call me Edward here since it turns out you are the boss here." He winked.

Bella blushed and felt a little mesmerized by the way he was grinning at her. However, there was something she really needed to ask him.

"There is no way Alice didn't know about this is there?" Bella said.

"Not a chance." Edward said shaking his head.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing and favouriting this story. An extra special thanks to **Darcysmom** for her mad beta skills (even though I fiddled right before hitting publish). She is _the best_ to work with.

So... thoughts?


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Without A Smile: Chapter 14**

Edward couldn't believe his luck. Well, it wasn't luck of course, it was Alice. He would be mad at her if he wasn't so damn happy.

He hadn't had so much fun in years.

After the initial awkward introductions, Bella had asked him to play something for her. He started off by playing _Tomorrow._ The young girl who was playing Annie began singing along right away in her clear youthful voice. After he was done with that he turned to Miss Swan with a wink and played _You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile_. The lights were up in the theatre, so he could see her sitting at her desk smiling to herself while her face flushed. Oh, it was a good night indeed.

He hung around until the end of rehearsal, and he, Alice, and Bella all walked out together and said their goodbyes outside of the theatre. He watched as Miss Swan walk down the street, only to be surprised when she stopped at a bus stop and sat down on the bench. He turned and looked at Alice with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't Edward," Alice shook her head. "I know what you are thinking, but you need to tread carefully. She's probably more stubborn and independent than you know."

"How do you know what I am thinking?"

"I don't have to know exactly, but it is written all over your face. You want to run over there and offer her a ride home and then freak out on her that she is taking the bus. Right? But you can't."

"Why not?" Edward suspected he was whining a little.

"I've offered her a ride many times, but it always seems to make her uncomfortable." Alice said with a little sad sigh. "I'm sure I only know a fraction of how hard her life has been, and yet she is this cheerful, amazing person. Give her time."

"Okay Alice. So let's get to the real question." He gave his sister a pointed look. "What are you up to?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you are talking about," she said saucily.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire. You knew exactly who she was, didn't you? Was that before or after you started working at the theatre?"

"Okay. I'll tell you, but only because I don't like keeping secrets from my big brother. However, it's cold tonight and I'm starving, so can we go get something to eat?" Alice was starting to shiver a little.

With that they walked arm-in-arm to a near by diner.

Bella stood at the bus stop and watched her boss walk away with her friend. Alice had told her so much about how wonderful her brother was, and now she found out it was Mr. Cullen. If she wasn't conflicted about him before, she certainly was now.

Alice and Edward found a diner with a retro vibe. Normally it wasn't the kind of place Edward would go to, but as soon as Alice saw it she started going on about how the baby wanted french fries, and Edward had to admit french fries sounded good. They sat in a booth with faded and cracked blue vinyl seats and a grey, speckled formica-top table. The menus were laminated and featured traditional diner fare.

Edward was eager to start talking, but after they ordered Alice held up a finger and called her husband to invite him to join them.

"If you think I'm waiting until Jasper gets here to find out what's going on, you are crazy Alice." Edward said, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Don't worry. I just wanted him to come for some fries. He knows everything anyway."

"Of course he does," Edward said. "Now speak."

So Alice told Edward about how she and their Mom had overheard a conversation going on one day during lunch a few weeks back. One of the women was bemoaning the fact that she had started singing and dancing in front of her boss the night before and was worried she was going to get fired.

Edward's cheeks went slightly pink.

"So, it's true?" Alice asked.

"It's true." Edward said. "But I would never have fired her."

"Anyway," Alice continued. "She sounded so, I don't know, genuine when she talked about how kind her boss was and how all the women in the company were always throwing themselves at him and how she tried to keep them away. Is that true?"

"Huh," Edward scratched his hands through his hair. "I guess it is. I mean, I never really thought too hard about it but now that you mention it things have been a lot more peaceful since Miss Swan started. I knew she was good about not letting people disturb me while I worked, but I didn't realize that she was so instrumental about fending some of them off."

"She said she felt protective of you, and Mom and I couldn't help but want to meet her."

"Ugh. So that's why Mom showed up at work that one day. I knew she was up to something."

"Of course," Alice laughed. "She's already half in love with her."

Edward rolled his eyes but smiled in spite of himself. Esme Cullen was notorious for her large heart. Not only did she adopt Edward and Alice, but she half-adopted the McCarty twins when they befriended Edward. Emmett and Tanya's mom had been raising the twins herself for years while working a full-time job. The twins soon found a second home in the Cullen household and things got a lot easier for Linda McCarty when she didn't have to worry that her kids (mostly Tanya) were out terrorizing the neighbourhood.

"So how did you end up volunteering for the theatre?"

Alice told him how she was listening to Bella talk to her lunch companion about the production and couldn't help but be excited by her enthusiasm.

"When I found out they were doing Annie, well, I just had to volunteer didn't I?" Alice said and then took a long drink from her milkshake.

At this point in the conversation Jasper slid into the booth and swiped a fry from his wife's plate, slowly dragging it through the ketchup on the way to his mouth, and then giving her a big kiss on the cheek.

"Cat's out of the bag now, is it?" Jasper said.

"Did you seriously just steal a french fry from a pregnant woman?" Alice asked her husband.

"Yes I did darlin', but it's okay because I'm about to order another plate and you can steal as many as your little heart desires."

"Sweet talker," Alice grinned at him.

"So you knew about this Jasper?" Edward asked studying his sister and brother-in-law and, for once, not feeling awkward about how sweet they were together.

"Not much gets past me Ed," Jasper said as he flagged down the waitress. "I assume you are talking about how Alice ended up working with your assistant?"

Edward nodded in affirmation.

"She was so excited when she got home from that fateful lunch, she got on the computer right away to find out about this mythical production of Annie."

"You know I had talked about wanted to volunteer for something while I figure out what to do with my skills now that we are home." Alice said.

"You're baking a baby my dear, that's plenty for right now."

"Yeah, yeah," Alice waved him off. "So I found out about the production and volunteered my costuming services, which they desperately needed if I do say so myself. The rest is, as they say, history."

Edward sat there thinking for a while as he munched on his fries.

Across town Bella lay in bed thinking about what had happened during the evening. Somehow Alice knew that Bella was her brother's assistant. Was that before or after she started working at the theatre? She tried to think back to all the conversations the two of them have had and wondered if she had revealed too much of herself to Alice that could have gotten back to Mr. Cullen (she wasn't quite ready to call him Edward yet).

Mr. Cullen had seemed just as surprised to see Bella at the theatre as she had to see him, so he obviously didn't know she was there. He seemed okay with it too – some bosses didn't like the people who worked for them to have such a time-consuming hobby after work because they worried it might take up company time. Bella rarely worked on theatre stuff from the office except occasionally during her lunch break while she ate her sandwich. On Bella's part, she thought of herself as a theatre person first and an assistant second, but she would never tell any company she worked for that. Her jobs were always just a means to an end, but she tried to be the best assistant she could be. She wondered if Mr. Cullen would understand that.

Worrying about what Alice was up to and what she might have told Mr. Cullen soon morphed into thinking about how he looked playing the piano. Back straight yet relaxed and slightly hunched at the shoulders, long arms ending in long fingers that obviously knew what they were doing on a keyboard. She tried not to pay too close attention to how his muscles flexed across his shoulders as he played. When the girl playing Annie had jumped in and started singing he matched his tempo to hers, which was a fraction slower than what he had been playing. Bella guessed this shouldn't surprise her because Alice had talked about how her beloved big brother had been her accompanist for so many years, so he was obviously experienced. It would have been awful if he was terrible and she would have had to tell him his services weren't wanted. That would have made for an awkward office situation.

However, she didn't have to tell him not to come back because he was obviously the right man for the job.

"Stupid perfect cute boss" she muttered to herself.

Now she would be seeing him twice a week in the evenings as well as every day at work. The thought both thrilled and scared her. Her last thought as she drifted off was a vague memory of Alice telling her that her brother hadn't dated anyone in years, but that couldn't be true, could it?

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed, followed, or are just reading along on their own (Hi Mom and her friends). It really means a lot to me. When I started this story I thought: It would be really cool if a couple people read it and gave me feed back. I didn't expect to have over 600 followers. I'm rather blown away.

Big thanks goes out to my Beta **Darcysmom** because she is a busy woman and still takes the time to correct my misplaced comma usage and encourage me.

Have you checked out the **Meet The Mate** contest. I'm sure you have because there are about eleventy billion entries for that contest so everyone must know about it. I wrote a little entry myself. I'm grateful I'm not a judge for that contest - I don't envy their job.

So, how are we feeling about the first rehearsal now?


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Without A Smile: Chapter 15**

Edward was in the office early the morning after his first rehearsal. Last night he had wanted to pump Alice for more information about Miss Swan, but they both agreed it would be best if he didn't show up at the office the next morning knowing too much more about her. Alice was also reluctant to divulge any information Bella might not want Edward to know. As much as she wanted her brother and Bella to get together (and she did, she really, really did), and as much as she was, in her brother's words, a meddlesome pixie, Bella was her friend first and foremost and that was something she wasn't going to jeopardize.

The one thing that Alice _was_ willing to tell Edward was that Bella had a sweet tooth and liked chai lattes. So he left home early and picked up lattes for both of them. With a burst of artistic inspiration he asked the barista if he could have the cup before they filled it and he drew a picture on the side.

That was why when Miss Swan got to work she found a still-hot chai latte sitting on her desk for her with a stick figure of a man in a suit drawn on the side. However, he had no face. Underneath the stick figure was the caption "This naked man needs to finish getting dressed," and Bella burst out laughing when she read the words. She looked up to see her boss leaning against the door frame to his office smiling at her.

"Good morning Miss Swan," he said.

"Good morning Mr. Cullen," Bella grinned back at him, her heart stuttering a bit. She was glad he was going to continue to use her formal title during work hours. Somehow it made everything seem a little normal still. She had been dreading work this morning.

"I had a discussion with my meddlesome sister last night after rehearsal ended."

Bella felt her stomach drop a little.

"Don't worry, all of your secrets are safe with her," Edward noticed how Miss Swan's face went a little pale and wondered just what secrets she might be keeping. "However, she did tell me that you have a sweet tooth and like chai lattes so I picked one up for you on my way to work."

All of a sudden Edward realized that he didn't know if Miss Swan could drink milk. The thought never occurred to him at the coffee shop as he stood there and debated the different types of milk Miss Swan might want. He thought about getting her a skim milk chai because that is what his sister always did but then he wondered if that would send her the message that he thought she was fat. On the other hand he didn't want to get her a whole milk chai because that sounded too heavy and might send the message that he thought she was too thin. _And this,_ he thought wryly to himself as he stood in the line-up, _is why I avoid women at all costs._

In the end he had decided on one percent milk and received a lengthy explanation from the adolescent barista about how they didn't really have one percent but he could mix whole and skim together to make a close approximation if Edward was willing to take the risk. Edward took the risk.

Now in his office he was starting to worry that Miss Swan might be lactose intolerant and maybe he should have ordered her a soy or almond milk chai latte. Just as he was starting to sweat a bit Miss Swan picked up her drink and took a deep sip. Licking her lips gingerly after she removed the cup from them she looked up and smiled at him. It was Edward's heart's turn to stutter a little.

"It's delicious. Thank you so much." Then she picked up a thin-tipped black Sharpie from the container of pens on her desk and proceeded to draw on the cup.

Edward watched her and shook his head at himself, now remembering that he had seen her eat cheese while they were out for one of their lunch meetings. _I need to calm the fuck down_. Edward thought. _And now I'm swearing at myself._

Miss Swan walked over to where her boss was standing and showed him the completed stick figure, now with large googly eyes and a full grin on his face.

"Better?" She asked.

"Much, and your art skills are significantly better than mine."

"Yeah, well, I can't play the piano or any other instrument," she admitted.

"You can sing," and with a wink Edward turned around and entered his office knowing that he needed to put some space between them, and he did have a job that needed him.

Bella returned to her seat blushing.

Later on that day, Edward watched as Bella packed up her desk to go home. Feeling as though she was being watched, Bella turned and waved to her boss. She was putting on her coat and wrapping a brightly striped scarf around her neck. It was when she was arranging her striped beret that Edward jumped out of his desk to say something to her.

"Big plans for the weekend?" He asked as he lurched through the doorway in his haste to get to her. _Oh that was lame. So, so lame_ , he admonished himself.

"Oh not much," she said smiling. "The usual really. Grocery shopping, laundry, finding new and exciting ways to break out in song in front of strangers and totally embarrass myself."

The fact that she was laughing at herself made Edward happy.

"That happens a lot then does it?"

"I will admit that sometimes my filter falls asleep. It was something my foster parents and I used to do and it's kind of habitual now," Bella said.

"Will you visit your foster father this weekend?"

"Yes, I try to see him a couple times a week. How about you sir, any big plans?"

"Well, I have a lot of piano to practise, which I am very excited about. Also dinner with my parents, of course, where I hope to talk Mom into letting me have all of the leftovers." He grinned at Bella and she grinned back at him, both of them remembering the silly post-it note he had sent her. "I will probably see Alice and Jasper at some point and probably Tanya as well, you remember her, right?"

Bella wondered how he could think she would forget the gorgeous blonde whom he was having non-business lunches with all the time.

"Of course sir." Bella decided to scurry away before the heavy lump that was developing in her stomach was readable on her face. However, Edward wasn't done with her yet.

"Miss Swan, could I ask you a personal question?"

Bella turned back to her boss. He couldn't help but notice the panic in her eyes and wondered why she was so skitterish when it came to divulging personal information about herself.

"I suppose so sir. If you have to."

"I can't help but notice that you have on this brightly coloured coat and wonderful striped hat and scarf. So why the change to all-black these days?"

Bella didn't know what she was expecting her boss to ask her, but it certainly wasn't this.

"Well, I've been told I need to dress more professionally for my position as your assistant sir." Bella had assumed that when she was called into HR's office that her boss probably had something to do with it.

"Black is more business like? What was wrong with your other clothes?"

"I've been told they are too worn-out looking sir. The only thing new-ish are some of my stage manager clothes."

"Miss Swan," Edward was trying to pull his thoughts together through the fog of rising anger. "Lets get one thing clear. They way you expertly look after all of my professional needs is what makes you an excellent assistant. You are always on time, always conscientious and anticipatory of what needs to be done, and just because you might not be spending a small fortune on your clothes does not reflect poorly on me in any shape or form."

Bella stared at her boss wide eyed, her eyes got even bigger as he stepped closer to her. She could feel the heat coming off of him and wondered if he could tell that her heart had sped up.

"So Monday is, what, orange cardigan and navy skirt day?" He asked softly.

"Yes sir," Bella practically swallowed the words, wondered if her voice was really that breathy or if something was wrong with her ears. "It used to be orange cardigan and brown skirt day but," Bella paused and took a deep breath, she was feeling really warm. "I was starting to think I looked like the A&W Root Bear."

"I can assure you Miss Swan, nothing you wear could ever make you look like the A&W Root Bear." Edward realized he was standing inappropriately close to his assistant and took a step back.

"So," he said on an exhale. "Can we put the stage manager clothes away and go back to the bright and colourful Bella that we all know and love?" Edward realized his faux pas the minute it left his mouth and Bella's cheeks turned a bright pink.

"Yes sir." Once again she turned to leave.

"Oh, and Bella?"

"Sir?"

"Plaid tights are perfectly acceptable work attire as well. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about your style."

Edward watched as Bella nodded her head and left the office.

As soon as he sat down at his desk he pulled up the digital copy of Bella's HR file. Sure enough there was a note in there about a meeting that took place last week regarding her inappropriate work attire.

"Those bitches," Edward swore under his breath. Immediately he stood up, and then sat back down again.

Miss Swan seemed like the kind of woman who liked to fight her own battles so he didn't understand why she thought this sort of thing was legal. Did she think that he had told them to have this meeting? He certainly hoped not.

Then Edward remembered what his sister had said the night before about how Bella was keeping the women on the 32nd floor away from making up fake reasons to see him. The exact women who were listed in this meeting. He remembered how his meetings with Kate and Irina had always some how been manipulated into coffee or lunch meetings before Bella had come along. Now she dealt with everything unless it was something that actually needed his attention. He suspected this was their way of paying her back for her protection. It's true that she is much younger than the other executive assistants in the company but she was highly recommended by the temping agency she came from and from some of her professors at the university.

As much as he wanted to storm upstairs and fight this battle for Miss Swan (and then fire every one of them), he felt it would be prudent to have a discussion about it with her first. Plus he needed some advice because this wasn't just work, it was personal.

With that thought he picked up his phone.

* * *

 **A/N** : As per usual: I don't own Twilight but I do own this plot and I owe a lot to **Darcysmom** for being an awesome Beta and cleaning this up. I tweaked - a lot - after she sent it back so all mistakes are mine.

How are we doing out there?


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Without A Smile: Chapter 16**

The sound of beeping dragged Bella up from a hazy dream that involved her and Mr. Cullen waltzing on a stage while someone played the low badump-badump of the A&W theme on a tuba in the wings.

When she realized it was her phone beeping, there was a moment where Bella wondered if Mr. Cullen were texting her, but as friendly as they were getting that seemed an unusual thing for him to do on a Saturday morning.

 _Apparently_ , Bella thought to herself as she stared at her phone, _not an unusual thing for his sister to do_.

His sister. Bella still wasn't sure how she felt about that bit of news.

 _ **Alice:**_ _**So, Jasper got a position at the University**_ , the text read. _**And as I sit beside the toilet wondering if I'm done puking or not, I thought I should have a little celebration for him. Can you come out for drinks tonight?**_

Bella lay in bed staring at the text. She hadn't seen Alice since rehearsal on Thursday night and still hadn't talked to her about how she knew Bella worked for her brother and why she kept that information to herself.

Still, Bella thought, it would be fun to hang out with Alice outside of rehearsal, and she wasn't going to lie to herself, if the option was waiting until Monday to see Mr. Cullen or seeing him tonight she would take that option. After their conversation yesterday about her wardrobe she couldn't help but feel even more enamoured with him than before.

Rolling out of bed and shuffling into the living room in her big fuzzy slippers, Bella noticed that one of her fish were floating belly up in the tank.

"Oh no," Bella said sadly. "Poor Frankenfurter, it's all over." She scooped him out with a green fish net and walked to the toilet.

Standing over the toilet she started to sing.

"On the day I went away (good-ood-bye)

Was all I had to say (Now-I-eye-e-eye)

Want to come again and stay

Smile and that will mean I may

I've seen blue skies

Through the tears in my eyes

And I realize I'm going home

I'm going home"

While she softly finished of the notes to "I'm Going Home" she tipped the sieve over and the fish dropped into the toilet.

"Bye Frankie, say hi to Brad and Janet for me."

Bella was starting to wonder if maybe getting a fish tank wasn't such a good idea. It seemed as though she was having a funeral a week lately.

Later, while visiting Liam, Bella told him the tale of losing another fish as they sat in the park under his tree. She also told him her worries about going out for drinks with her boss.

"Just remember Bella, the truth that once was spoken. To love another person – or fish in your case - is to see the face of God." Liam winked at her. "Open your heart dear. Not everything in your life ends badly, but if you are only going to give your love to fish you are going to be sorely disappointed."

Bella showed up at the bar promptly at eight with Rosalie. If she was going to go out and be social with her boss in a drinking establishment then she was going to need some support. Once her eyes adjusted to the light she saw Alice's slight figure waving frantically from a table in the back. To her left was her husband Jasper and to her right was the gorgeous blonde Tanya. Beside Tanya was a behemoth of a man that Bella could only assume was the brother Tanya and her boss had mentioned before. Bella was trying not to pay attention to the disappointment in her stomach that her boss wasn't there.

"Wow," Bella heard Rosalie say under her breath. "That man is gorgeous and huge." She promptly scooted into the vacant chair on his left.

"Hi everyone," Bella said.

"Oh Bella, I'm so glad you made it," Alice squealed a little and got up from her spot to give Bella a hug. "Hi Rosalie," Alice said as she reached out her hand. "It's nice to see you again."

Alice hugged Bella again. "Do you forgive me?" Her big blue eyes looked at Bella pleadingly. "I only wanted to keep you to myself for a bit." It wasn't the full truth, Alice knew this, but after meeting Bella it wasn't a lie either. Alice wanted to be friends with Bella no matter what happened between her brother and her new friend.

Alice gave Bella one last squeeze and then made introductions. It turned out that Tanya and Rosalie had met on a number of occasions, usually at conferences or in the courthouse.

"So you two are twins?" Rosalie couldn't help but ask. "You don't really look a like."

"Well, Em got all the mass and manners, and I got the looks, personality and strength," Tanya said giving her brother a punch in the arm.

"Ouch," Emmett said rubbing his arm, but then he turned to Bella and Rosalie and winked.

"Tan is definitely the more aggressive of us. That's why she is the lawyer and I'm the fire fighter. I like to help people. She's likes to put them in jail."

"Hey, that's not fair. I only put the ones who deserve it in jail."

Across the room, Edward was leaning against the bar watching the interaction between his assistant and his friends while he waited for their drinks. He was happy to see that there was an empty chair beside Bella, so when the drinks were ready he walked carefully back to their table and sat down beside her.

"Miss Swan," he leaned over and whispered in her ear. "That is a lovely shade of not-black you are wearing this evening."

Bella felt her cheeks warm as his breath tickled her neck.

"Hey now, no secrets" Emmett shouted across the table, but he laughed as he took his beer from Edward and went back to talking to Rosalie.

"Thank you Mr. Cullen," Bella said.

"Now, now," Jasper looked at Edward and Bella and gave them his best disapproving glare accompanied with a finger waggle. "It's Saturday night and we are at a bar celebrating my new job. Here you two can be Edward and Bella. Save the titles for the office."

"Yes sir," Bella said to Jasper and then giggled when she saw his expression.

"I'm going to have to keep an eye on you aren't I Miss Bella?" Jasper said playing up the drawl in his voice.

"Maybe." Bella grinned.

"So, Bel- _la_ ," Edward said. "Can I get you and your friend a drink. The first round is on me."

"Oh, I can't really do rounds. I only have one drink so I should pay for it myself. It's only fair."

"It's okay Bella," Edward said and placed his hand on top of hers. "We aren't here to get drunk or spend a ton of money, just to celebrate. Let me buy you a drink."

"Well that sounds good to me," Rosalie said with a smile.

A couple rounds later Bella was on her third drink, which was two drinks more than her average, and she was feeling it. Bella wasn't a loud drunk, or a sad drunk, she was a quiet drunk and she sat there smiling and watching everyone, and very aware of her boss – _Edward's_ – thigh pressed up against her. In her tipsy, watchful state Bella noticed something interesting going on between her friend and Emmett. Rose was also kind of drunk and she kept leaning into Emmett in a very suggestive way and touching him not-so-subtly. Bella figured Emmett was going to get lucky tonight.

"Are you hungry?" Emmett turned to Rosalie and asked.

"Starving," she said and coyly bit her lip.

"Yeah? You want to get out of here and get a Falafel?"

"Oh sure, a Falafel. That sounds good," Rosalie said with a funny look on her face.

Everyone at the table watched as the two left the bar and with the exception of Bella they all burst out laughing.

Tanya was snorting.

"Does she think she is going to get laid?" Tanya asked Bella.

"Isn't she?" Bella asked , only half aware of what was going on.

"No." The remaining members of the table said together, laughing and shaking their heads.

"So where are they going?" Bella asked.

"To get Falafels," Edward said.

"Oh." Things were really starting to feel fuzzy. Bella was wondering if putting her head down on the table for a little rest would be acceptable.

"Speaking of getting laid," Tanya said looking at Edward. "That's what I need to do. Can you help me out Ed?"

All of a sudden things felt a lot less fuzzy. Bella jumped up, staggering slightly.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she announced and ran away. However, she didn't go to the bathroom. She found herself outside of the bar gulping the cold night air.

"He's just my boss," she said to herself. "He's just my boss."

"Hey," Bella turned around when she heard the voice behind her and saw Tanya standing there.

"You okay? I went to the bathroom to see if you were alright but you weren't there. Here, you left your coat at the table so I grabbed it for you." Tanya put the coat around Bella's shoulders.

"Oh, thanks." From their interaction that evening, Bella thought Tanya was hilarious, but at that moment she couldn't look at her knowing what kind of help she would be getting from her boss later.

"Edward is settling the bill but he wants to give you a ride, too. You cool with that?" Tanya asked. She was starting to worry about how pale Bella was looking and didn't think she should be left alone.

"That's okay. I can catch a cab. I'm not feeling so good. Tell everyone thanks for a lovely evening," Bella told Tanya while she stood on the curb and hailed a cab.

"You sure? It's no problem." Tanya was trying to keep Bella there. Edward was going to drop her off at Felix's place and then he could have some alone time with Bella, but as Tanya was thinking this a cab pulled up and Bella got in and they drove away.

At that moment Tanya saw Edward exit the bar.

"Where is she? She didn't catch a bus did she?" He looked at his watch, worry lines creasing his forehead.

"No, she caught a cab. She said she didn't feel well and left."

"That's because you two are idiots." Alice was standing behind them.

"Why, what did we do?"

"You didn't notice that she jumped up to leave as soon as Tanya asked for your help in getting laid? Honestly, am I the only sane, sober person here?"

"You sure are darlin'" Jasper crooned leaning into his wife and pretending to be drunker than he was.

"Now she thinks you two are going home to screw even though Edward was blatantly flirting with her all evening. She's probably confused and a little hurt." Alice looked at them sadly and shook her head. "More than a little hurt I suspect."

"Oh no," Edward said at the same time Tanya swore under her breath.

"Shit Ed, I'm so sorry. I never even thought of that. I just assumed everyone knew I wouldn't touch your ten foot pole with a ten foot pole."

"Well, thanks for the bizarre vote of confidence about my member Tan. It's not your fault though. This is something I need to figure out on my own."

Alice and Jasper looked at each other, wishing they had some words of wisdom for Edward.

"Come on Tan, I'll drop you off at Felix's on my way home."

* * *

A/N: Once again, I don't own Twilight, Les Miserables or Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you don't know the song from Rocky Horror that Bella sings to her fish go to You Tube and type in "I'm Going Home by Rocky Horror Picture Show". Between Annie and Rocky Horror I've probably been a little in love with Tim Curry since I was 6 years old. Even when he plays the bad guy. (Maybe especially when he plays the bad guy?)

 **Darcysmom** did a great job of cleaning this up and then I tweaked a lot. All mistakes are mine.

So, how is everyone doing?


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Without A Smile: Chapter 17**

"So, what happened?" Bella was sitting in the coffee shop all but hugging her chai latte. She had never had a hangover before and she wasn't sure if it was from the alcohol or the fact that every time she closed her eyes she thought of what her boss and Tanya might be doing.

"We went and got Falafels."

"Yeah?" Bella doesn't see what the problem is since that's what they said they were going to do.

"Actual Falafels. It's a sandwich you know," Rosalie said as she looked at Bella in surprise.

"I know. Why does that surprise you?"

"I thought it was a euphemism for, you know, something else." At this confession Rosalie looks almost embarrassed.

"How on earth did your brain go from Falafels to sex?"

"Well, I was fairly tipsy and I thought that he was trying to be discreet about it. But then we left the bar and walked a couple blocks and he stopped in front of this run down little place called Shawarma something. Shawarma Prince? Shawarma King? Shawarma Palace? I don't know. It was royal sounding." Rosalie shakes her head and takes a long sip from her coffee.

At this point Bella was having a hard time containing her laughter and Rosalie, who was trying to act upset, couldn't help but crack a smile.

"So we go into the place and Emmett starts talking to the guy behind the counter – by name," Rosalie rolls her eyes at that fact.

"What did you do?" Bella is having a hard time picturing Rosalie at some greasy little Lebanese place.

"I didn't really do anything. I was in shock, so I just stood there. Then Emmett ordered two Falafel sandwiches, and Oh My God I have never met anyone who is as serious as he is when it comes to Falafels – or any kind of deli food. It was bizarre."

"Bizarre enough to leave?"

"I thought about it. I really did. But he had already ordered me a sandwich and, well, I guess it wasn't bizarre enough to cancel out his cuteness factor. If anything it added to his adolescent charm." Rosalie said with a sigh. "I had the drunken munchies too, so I decided to stick around. He's the complete opposite of all the other douchebags I usually date, so I thought, why not? What have I got to lose?"

"Did you get to see his "Falafel" later? Bella laughed as she put her hands up and air quoted the word Falafel. This conversation with her best friend was improving her morning considerably.

"Shut up you," Rosalie says. "No, we sat in the so-called palace and looked out the window while we chatted. It turns out he is going through a really nasty divorce and his ex-wife is trying to use their child as leverage. That's the other thing, he has a four-year old daughter named Elsa."

Rosalie shoots Bella a look.

"She isn't really named that, is she?"

"She sure is. He showed me a picture on his phone. In the photo is a room completely decked out in Frozen paraphernalia and sitting on the bed is a little dark brown girl with a huge mop of black curly hair wearing a crown and an Elsa dress. It was probably the cutest thing I have ever seen. I think my ovaries exploded.

"Emmett said it was a family name and just his luck that she was born a couple years before the movie came out. His ears are ready to start bleeding from the amount of times he has had to listen to the soundtrack and watch the movie. He admits it's mostly his fault though because Elsa's mom is such a bitch so he and his sister and their Mom tend to spoil her."

"He sounds really sweet, Rose." Bella looks at her friend and tries to gauge her true reaction to the story she is telling. "Do you think you will see him again?"

"I don't know. To be honest I couldn't even tell if he was that interested in me or if he was just a really nice, hungry guy who needed to unload on someone other than your boss and his sister. Plus I gave him some family law advice, but it sounds like he has a good lawyer. Originally Elsa's mom didn't want her but now she is claiming she does. It sounds like a shit-show if you ask me."

Bella sat there quietly not saying anything.

"Honestly, I would like to see him again but he sounds like he isn't ready to start dating any time soon and, of course, having a kid changes things. I can respect that and be friends."

"Until he's ready to whip out his Falafel balls?"

Rosalie buried her face in her hands as she laughed. "You have got to stop saying things like that. I'm embarrassed enough."

"Well, it makes a nice change that it's you and not me." Bella said and threw an arm around her friend, hugging her close."

"So what is going on with you and your boss?" Rosalie knew Bella wasn't going to want to talk about him, but she wasn't going to let it go. Rosalie and Bella had been friends for years and it was so rare for Bella to be interested in someone. Rose knew something had happened at the group home after she left. Bella never came out with the details, but Rose wasn't stupid. Bella was terrified when Rose was leaving and it was a couple months before Liam and Maggie showed up.

"Nothing," Bella mumbled into her cup.

"Well, it certainly didn't look like nothing last night. He only had eyes for you the whole night."

"But he left with Tanya. She said she needed to get laid and asked Mr. Cullen for help with that. They left together."

"Really?" Rosalie was shocked. "I didn't get that vibe off them last night at all."

"Yeah, well, you also thought that 'lets go get a Falafel' meant 'lets go get naked,' so if you will excuse me I think your judgement may have been slightly impaired."

"I don't know Bella. I can read people pretty well. Edward didn't spend one moment making eyes at Tanya, but he did spend every moment making sure you had a good time."

"That's what I thought too," Bella said sadly. "Once again it just goes to show that you can never really know people. His sister lied about who she was and my boss flirts with me and then goes home and screws someone else."

"What? Why would he do that if they were going home to have sex. He doesn't seem the type but I guess I don't really know him."

"Exactly. I don't really know him either. It's probably best if I start looking for a new job."

What Bella didn't mention to Rosalie was that she had a text from her boss on her phone when she got home last night. He asked her to let him know that she arrived home safely. It was one more thing that was confusing her about him, but she did send him a one word reply to let him know she was home safe.

"It does seem strange that if he and Tanya were together she would be okay with him flirting with another woman all night. She seems like a bit of a ball buster from what Emmett was saying last night."

"I know. But maybe they are into kinky shit. It's always the quiet ones."

Across town Edward and Tanya were talking on the phone about how to solve the problem of Bella thinking that they wanted anything to do with each other sexually.

"You need to let her know without coming right out and saying 'you were wrong' because then she is going to be embarrassed for making assumptions." Tanya said.

"So what do I do?"

"I have an idea but you need to let me come back into the office and talk to her."

"I've banned everyone from visiting the office, except my Dad."

"Yeah yeah, I know, you want to keep her to yourself. Trust me this is a good idea but if I tell you, you will have to fake surprise and you are terrible at doing that. Remember that surprise birthday party Em and I tried to throw you when you turned 13."

"Ugh, don't remind me. Pretending to plan a surprise birthday party for Emmett but asking me about everything I would want at a birthday party was a really dumb idea. Plus it wasn't anywhere near yours and Emmett's birthday."

"Okay, fine. I was trying to be a good friend so sue me. But your face when you walked into the room was priceless. You tried so hard to act surprised but really it looked like you just needed to poop."

"You don't still have that photo do you?"

"It's framed in my office. I look at it when I need a laugh."

"You suck Tan."

"Yes I do, and quite well I've been told - but not for you. And no one else will either if we don't clear this up, so I will come to the office and fix it but I won't be able to make it there Monday. I won't tell you when I am coming. I don't think Bella seeing your fake surprise poo-face will help win you any favours."

Edward shook his head at his best friend. "Fine - but don't wait too long to come, okay?"

"That's what she said." Tanya couldn't resist and Edward hung up listening to her snort-chortle into the phone.

* * *

A/N: I'm posting an early chapter because another child has come down with the stomach flu and I need to do something to cheer me up. One more child to go! (Maybe?)

Once again, **Darcysmom** used her red pen and cleaned this up. This chapter was a bit of a mess but she worked her magic.

And of course big internet hugs to every one who reads, reviews, follows, or just lurks. It means a lot to me that people like this story so much. Now I'm going to get to work finishing the next chapter. I'm sure every one wants to know what is going to happen Monday morning between or awkward pair.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Without A Smile: Chapter 18**

"Today is not going to be orange cardigan and navy blue skirt day!" Bella announced emphatically to her closet as she was preparing for work on Monday morning.

"He thinks he knows my whole wardrobe, does he?" She mumbled to herself as she dug through her closet. It was a small closet but it was stuffed to the gills with costumes from various productions she had worked on. Trying to shove herself between the wall and the clothing Bella reached her arm into the darkness, groping into the far back. There, shining like a beacon of hope, was her red dress.

Bella didn't like the idea that Mr. Cullen was cataloguing her wardrobe. Okay, yes, it was kind of cute, but it was also confusing. The more she thought about Saturday night, the more she wondered if maybe she had over-reacted to what she had heard. What Rosalie said was true, her boss hardly paid any attention to Tanya, at least, not in an intimate way. Bella could still feel how his leg had pressed up against hers and how his arm had been resting on the back of her chair, occasionally grazing her shoulder. It had given her shivers then just as the memory of it was doing now.

Still, Bella felt she needed a way to get back the upper hand she once had. She had a job to do – two jobs to do really. Be a great assistant and open her own children's theatre. She didn't have time for a relationship that wasn't going to go anywhere anyway. No way. No how.

Bella wasn't completely inexperienced when it came to men. Well, maybe when it came to men, but not when it came to boys. There had been an incident between herself and another boy at the group home after Rosalie had left that made it hard for her to trust. She often thought about what might have happened if Liam and Maggie hadn't come and given her a home. _A safe home_. When she moved in with her foster parents, Bella was more interested in the theatre and school than in boys. Sure, there were a couple flirtations with theatre boys once she felt safe again. There was also Jacob, her one long-term boyfriend that resulted in a number of firsts for both of them before they agreed not to do the long-distance thing when he left for university. She was still in touch with him and thought of him fondly but not in any romantic way – which was good since he was very much in love with his partner, Seth. He liked to joke that Bella was the only woman he ever loved.

Knowing that Mr. Cullen was expecting to see her in her orange cardigan and navy blue skirt but not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing exactly what she was going to wear was making her bold. That boldness is what and helped her make the decision to reach into the back of her closet and pull out the red dress. Rosalie had bought this for Bella a year ago as a graduation present. She said it would be perfect for when she started working as a temp. "Every woman needs a red dress, Bella, for those days when you have asses to kick or those days when you feel like everything is wrong and you need to fake it until you make it."

Bella had laughed, but she accepted the dress. Until this weekend Bella had actually forgotten about it, but it surfaced in her mind when she thought about facing her boss at work that morning. This, Bella thought, is a sexy dress but still completely Bella-like and work appropriate. Rosalie cared enough about her friend to know not to buy her something she wouldn't wear or feel comfortable in. It was long sleeved, and knee-length and reminded Bella of something from one of her favourite non-Musicals, _Amelie_.

Bella spent the rest of her morning as she got ready for work thinking about how to re-write the movie _Amelie_ into a musical for the stage. She was tired of focusing so much of her mental energy on her confusing boss.

Across town, Edward was already at work. But he wasn't in his office. He was sitting in Kate Quinn's office. With the lights off. It was probably creepy, but he felt he hadn't been very CEO-like lately since he had been mooning over Bella, but now it was time to put some fear back into his employees. Starting with Kate.

Friday, after his discussion with Bella, Edward called his dad . As much as Edward missed his real parents, Carlisle and Esme Cullen had more than stepped-in to look after Alice and Edward after their parents died. It didn't take long for Edward to look upon Carlisle as a father figure. Growing up, Edward wanting nothing more than to follow in Carlisle's footsteps and take over the company that he had built, which was why he became a CEO at such a young age. Carlisle was always his first choice for who he went to when he needed advice on the company. Edward was still chuckling to himself at the surprise in his Father's voice when he needed not just advice on the company (something he hadn't asked for in a while) but on a woman in the company. Carlisle had been hoping for a long time for Edward to come to him for woman advice.

"My assistant is being bullied by some women in the company," he said stating the facts plainly. "They put a note in her employee file saying that she was breaking dress code and would be fired if she did it again."

"I'm assuming this is the wonderful Miss Swan your mother and sister are always talking about?" Carlisle asked.

"It is," even Carlisle couldn't miss the sigh in Edward's voice. "Even if she were breaking dress-code, which she isn't, no one discussed anything with me. Her wardrobe may be a little quirky at times but it is hardly enough to fire her. I have a mind to fire some other people though." Edward was seething as he spoke. "And of course Miss Swan never said anything to me. She just started wearing black clothes every day. I think she probably thought this was on my orders but I have cleared that up."

"So what do you intend to do?"

"I'm not sure. Firing seems a little harsh but bullying is totally not acceptable."

In the end, Edward decided talk to Ms. Quinn directly and that was why he was waiting in her office. It wasn't but a few minutes after he sat down that she was backing in, coffee in one hand, briefcase in the other, pushing the door open. When she turned on the light, she shrieked a little.

"Edward, what are you doing here?"

"I prefer you call me Mr. Cullen, Ms Quinn. And I'm here to talk to you about bullying my assistant."

Like many people who know they are being called out for something wrong they have done, Kate immediately went on the defensive.

"I wasn't bullying her. Her wardrobe is totally inappropriate for someone in her position, and we wanted to make sure she understood that."

"Accounting needed to be a part of this too? Was Miss Swan's wardrobe somehow preventing accounting from doing their job?"

"Well, n-no," Kate stuttered. "But Irina looks professional at all times, and we thought if Ms. Swan saw how she should be dressing it might help."

"Somehow I doubt your reasons were quite so altruistic Ms. Quinn, so lets cut the bullshit. Have you ever spoken to anyone else about their wardrobe? What about Alistair's assistant, Carmen? She wears the same cardigan in the office every day and has pictures of her cats and grandchildren everywhere on her desk, yet he is Vice President of the company. In spite of Carmen's grandmotherly attire she is highly respected by the entire company and is sought out for advice all the time. I didn't see a warning in her file."

Kate stood there looking at the CEO with her mouth open but knew there was nothing she could say.

Edward then handed Kate a pamphlet for a workshop on bullying in the workplace and explained that she, Irina Denali, and Lauren Mallory would be attending.

"Let me make myself very clear," Edward said as he leaned across Kate's desk towards her. "Bullying is totally unacceptable in this company. I have half a mind to fire you right now, and if I were a more malicious man I would send out an e-mail to the entire company explaining exactly why I feel you three women need to participate in an anti-bullying workshop."

Edward thought to himself that if he wasn't so angry he would almost want to laugh at how Ms. Quinn's face seemed to be caving in on itself she was pinching her lips together so hard.

"Luckily for you, I am not a malicious man, and I would also like to prevent Miss Swan from having to deal with any more embarrassment from you.

"So," Edward stood up and prepared to leave. "You three will go to your workshop quietly and you will also apologize to Miss Swan about your behaviour. And then you will pray that I forget about this and don't decide to fire you anyway."

Feeling better but still riled up, Edward made his way back to his office. He thought about what to tell Miss Swan about his confrontation with Ms. Quinn, and he worried about what to do about the Tanya situation. He tried to soften it somewhat by sending her that text on Saturday night, not just because he wanted her to see that he was thinking of her, and not Tanya, but also because he was genuinely worried about her getting home safely. He probably shouldn't have let her drink so much when she had said she usually stopped at one drink.

As he rounded the corner to the reception area for his office what Edward saw made him trip over his own feet and run into the door frame.

Miss Swan was crouched down in front of one of the filing cabinets pulling files. When she heard the noise she quickly stood up. "Edward, are you okay?" Bella couldn't help asking. As annoyed as she was with the man, she still didn't want her boss to get hurt. She did, however, inwardly chastise herself for using his first name.

However, Edward didn't hear her. All he saw were her curves being hugged by a well-fitting red dress. Miss Swan's hair was down and her lipstick was darker than usual.

"Mr. Cullen?" Bella took a step forward, she was starting to wonder if he really had injured himself.

The movement woke Edward up from his red dress-induced fog. He knew she had asked her a question be he could only say, although it came out as a yell, the first thing that popped into his head.

"Tanya's not my girlfriend!"

* * *

 **A/N** : Aw, you guys. The response to the last chapter was really overwhelming. Thanks to everyone who reads and to every one who reviews - I appreciate every one of you. Big thanks goes to **Darcysmom** who knows how much I struggled with this chapter and put up with me making last minute changes.

I'm still living in a world of puke over here. Had to cancel the 5-year old's birthday party _again._ So not much time to write at the moment. (I'm actually feeding my daughter 1 tsp of liquid every 5 minutes to see if she can keep anything down - and she isn't. I've never had to experience this before. She's an amazing kid though and I think we are now over the worst of it. At least I hope so.) Anyway, Chapter 19 will be out sometime next week and hopefully I can get back on schedule.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Without A Smile: Chapter 19**

Bella was sitting at her stage manager's table looking, but not really seeing, the rehearsal going on in front of her. Currently the director was working with Miss Hannigan, Annie, and the rest of the orphans and Bella was supposed to be making stage direction notes. The note taking portion was mostly done and now her mind was thinking back to the last two days, while her boss sat at the piano on the side of the stage looking far too attractive.

It seemed like so much had happened since Monday morning when Mr. Cullen had walked into the office door frame and blurted out that he was not dating Tanya. In reality, it was only yesterday.

After Mr. Cullen stumbled into the office, looking a little dazed from what Bella assumed was a rather hard knock to his head, (but in truth felt more like a hard knock to his groin from the sight of Bella in that red dress) Bella didn't really know what to say to him.

"Tanya's not my girlfriend." He repeated. "I know things might have seemed weird at the end on Saturday night but..." At this point Bella cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"Mr. Cullen, what you and your friend do together is none of my business, you are both adults." Bella said feigning more nonchalance than she felt.

"But..." Edward made another attempt to speak.

" _But_ you have a plane to catch very soon sir and this isn't a conversation we need to have in the office. Or at all, really."

Bella informed Mr. Cullen that the out-of-town meeting he had that afternoon had been rescheduled for earlier in the day so the company plane was leaving soon. It was Alastair, the VP of the company, who was really working on this deal but Edward had requested to sit in on the last stages of the contract negotiations. Carmen, Alistair's assistant, had informed Bella only moments before Edward arrived that the schedule had changed.

"What? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Carmen only informed me a few minutes ago, I assumed Alastair was only informed this morning as well," Bella said while continuing to collect the files she knew her boss would need for the meeting.

Thankfully, since Edward was already planning on attending the meeting, he had his overnight case packed and waiting in his car. Bella heard him stomp around his office muttering something about "power plays" and "if they think this gives them the upper hand" before he came back out.

"Miss Swan, I very much regret that we will not be having our lunch meeting today. Unless disaster strikes, which it won't, since this company is the one that wanted to make the deal with us, so if they think moving things around is going to give them an advantage they are sorely mistaken." Edward paused to take a deep breath. That dress was making him ramble. "I digress, unless you hear otherwise I will be at rehearsal tomorrow night, and I would very much like to go for coffee afterwards and talk."

"Oh," Bella said. She felt the power of the red dress slip away as the intensity of her boss's gaze unnerved her. "Well, I don't usually like to stay up so late after rehearsal. It is a work day after all." Yeah, that sounded even lamer out loud than it did in her head.

"Well," Edward said with a smile breaking across his face. "I have it on good authority that your boss won't mind if you are a little late for work the next morning, if, for whatever reason, you feel the need to sleep in."

With those parting words Edward left to catch the company plane and Bella sat at her desk wondering what happened.

The rest of the day went fairly smoothly until shortly before it was time to go home. Kate, knowing that Edward was gone from the office until the next day decided she had better go and make her apologies while she didn't have to face him. Instead of finding a mousy assistant she found Bella looking curvy and gorgeous in a red dress. Bella wanted to laugh at Kate's attempt at an apology. She also couldn't help but notice that Kate seemed like she was chewing on nails to get the words out, and Bella wondered exactly what Mr. Cullen threatened her with.

However, things seemed to get stranger from the moment she got to work this morning. First of all, there was already a delivery of red flowers on her desk. Not just roses, but gerbera daisies, lilies, mums, and other, fancier flowers that Bella couldn't name. The bouquet was stunning and the card only read "my new favourite colour." Bella was certain it didn't come from the head of HR.

At 10:30 Tanya showed up.

"I have a problem," she said by way of greeting.

"Edward isn't here." Bella informed her, although she suspected Tanya already knew this.

"Oh, I know. I've come to talk to you."

Bella sat up a little straighter in her seat, surprised. She didn't really know what to say. Tanya grabbed a chair by the wall and dragged it over to the desk.

"I'm always Edward's go-to girl for functions that require a date. I've been doing this for years and so people naturally assume that I'm his girlfriend and we let them."

"He told me you weren't his girlfriend. I told him it was none of my business, so why are you telling me?"

"Because I want you to understand how it is and why we have this arrangement." Tanya said hoping Bella would listen and not judge too harshly. "I get to wear a fancy dress, take advantage of the open bar, take home any single man I like, and keep the women away from Ed. He then looks like he's not perpetually single and goes home by himself to his sad little apartment. Until now this has worked out well for both of us."

"So what's changed?"

"I have a boyfriend now. A boyfriend that I met at one of these society dinners Ed hates attending and I really like him. He was supposed to come out on Saturday night but he had to cover a shift at the hospital. That is where I was going after the bar." Tanya looked at Bella hoping she would understand what she was saying without having to come right out and say it.

"I still don't know why you are telling me all of this." Bella wasn't trying to sound rude, she was just confused.

"I need someone to take my place. There is a dinner coming up and I was supposed to go but I can't. Ed is going to freak at the thought of getting his own date."

"You want me to be his date?" Bella voice sounded almost screechy as the truth dawned on her. "I've never done anything like that before. I would stick out like a sore thumb and not know how to behave."

Tanya noticed that Bella wasn't saying no but she didn't feel the need to point that out.

"Okay, all of that aside, is there any reason you wouldn't want to accompany Ed? Because I think you and I both know that you wouldn't be taking my place. It's never really been my place. I've just been keeping it warm, waiting for you to come along."

Bella sat there remembering that conversation while Edward played the piano. The orphans were dancing across the stage and singing _It's A Hard Knock Life_ but all Bella could think about was the way Mr. Cullen's shirt moved across the muscles in his upper back as he played. Could her spot really be beside him she wondered? She knew he wanted to go for coffee and talk after the rehearsal but really, what did they have to talk about? She enjoyed being by his side, but didn't think she would feel comfortable doing so in anything more than a professional capacity. They came from two different worlds.

Empty belly life!

Rotten smelly life!

Full of sorrow life!

No tomorrow life!

Bella looked at the stage. She felt like the kids were trying to send her a message. Empty Bella life? She enjoyed her life, she did, with her friend, and her fish (there was only one left) and her theatre dreams. She even had more than one good friend now. But then her eyes wandered to Mr. Cullen again, and Bella sighed. Maybe going for coffee wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

 **A/N** : Thank you to everyone who has stuck around to read this story. My apologies for taking so long to get this chapter to you but that stomach flu got kind of out-of-hand at my house and, well, I won't get into the details but it was messy and a little scary and I'm trying to force feed my kids ice cream so they will gain back the weight they lost. Thankfully we seem to be over it for good (cross fingers, I've said this before and was sorely mistaken).

As I mentioned before, I submitted an entry to the **Meet The Mate** contest. My entry, _Double Stroller_ , came in third in the 'Popular Vote' category. I'm really rather touched and surprised by the whole thing. I will be continuing with that story as well but not until I have finished this one. The Edwards are too different for me to be able to write them both at the same time. Thank you to every one who took the time to read, review, and vote - for anyway - for that contest. They had 79 entries! I'm glad I wasn't one of the judges.

Thank you once again to **Darcysmom** for her Beta skills.

So what do you think, does Edward need a new date to those stuffy dinners?


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Without A Smile: Chapter 20**

"I'm not the sort of man who would spend all of his time with one woman and then go home with another."

 _Well there it is_ , Bella thought, _we're getting right down to business_.

Edward and Bella were in the same diner Alice had taken him to the night of his first rehearsal. When Edward had suggested getting a coffee "or a tea and some pie since it is a little late for coffee" at this diner, Bella had agreed. Not just because she knew he wouldn't take no for an answer, but because she had always wanted to go inside but had never had a good excuse, until now.

After saying goodnight to everyone, and a knowing look from Alice, Edward had led Bella out of the theatre with his hand resting on the small of her back. He didn't bother to take his hand away as they walked the two blocks to the diner in relative silence. Bella was unsure what to say. Edward knew what he wanted to say but was saving it all for when they sat down. He was content to enjoy the walk with Bella so close to him and looking cute in her striped beret and scarf.

"I'm sorry if Tanya and I gave you the impression that we are more to one another than we are." Edward continued. "I'm not sure how you feel about me, but..."

At this Bella cut him off.

"You're my boss."

"Well, yes. Although on Tuesday and Thursday nights you're kind of my boss," Edward said with a smile.

"What I mean is that it doesn't matter how I feel about you. You are my boss. Therefore feelings are irrelevant."

"Really? Because I can tell you that my feelings for you are anything but irrelevant Bella."

Bella blushed.

"Mr. Cullen, sir," but this time it was Edward's turn to cut Bella off.

"No more Mr. Cullen. I think we can do away with that after all this time, don't you?" What Edward didn't tell Bella was that he liked the way it sounded when she said his name. Although when she called him 'sir' that created a whole new set of feelings that he quickly tried not to think about.

"I suppose so," Bella said quietly.

"Bella, I really enjoy spending time with you. I didn't realize before you pulled that little song-and-dance routine in my office that my life was seriously devoid of any fun. You seemed to have closed in on yourself over the past couple weeks since then, and I'm afraid I'm to blame, but I can honestly say I have never been happier to go to work knowing that I get to see you in the office every morning."

"Oh." Bella didn't know how to react to what Edward was saying. She knew she enjoyed seeing him every day too but she just sat there and stared at him afraid to say anything. His blunt honesty was disarming.

"I'm telling you all of this because I want us to be friends. I don't want to scare you but," Edward knew it was time to lay it all out. "What I really want is for us to be more than friends."

Edward watched as all the colour drained from Bella's face.

"Bella?"

Edward was starting to get worried. She was just looked at him with big wide eyes and sitting as still as a stone.

"Okay, so, friends? Could we do that?" Edward could tell the whole 'more than friends' thing was a little much for Bella so he backpedalled a bit.

"Sorry," Bella said while shaking her head, she knew she was embarrassing herself. "I just... I'm not..." _Fudge me,_ Bella thought in her head, _I have no idea what I'm trying to say_. "I'm not so good with words unless they have been written by someone else," she said with a breathy laugh.

"Hey," Edward said reaching across the laminate surface of the table and grabbing Bella's hand. She immediately felt a bit calmer. Bella took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"It's been a long time since I've done the more-than-friends thing and I'm not sure how I feel about doing that with someone who is my boss," the words tumbled out of Bella's mouth quickly. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. "But you make me feel things and want things I didn't think I could ever feel or want," she continued quietly.

Edward waited until Bella opened her eyes and looked at him. "I can work with that. It's been a long time since I've done the more-than-friends thing too Bella. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable. As for being your boss? No one says you can't be friends with your boss. Why don't we start there?"

"Okay," Bella said nodding her head. She had never felt so tongue-tied in her life. Damn this man and his effect on her.

They sat at the table quietly, Bella's hand still in Edward's, until their waitress showed up with their tea and pie.

"So, the first rule of friendship is that you need to give me a bite of that chocolate banana pie and I then reciprocate by giving you a bite of my pumpkin," Edward told Bella with a wink.

Bella felt grateful that Edward was changing the subject. Except there was one major problem.

"I will agree to giving you a bite of this chocolate banana treat but I'm not touching your pumpkin pie."

"What? Why not?"

"I can't stand canned pumpkin," Bella used her fork to point at Edward's pie as if to emphasize her point. "If I'm going to eat pumpkin pie it needs to be made from a fresh pumpkin."

"Ah, I see. Is this a hard rule?"

"Absolutely," Bella said nodding her head.

"That's what my mother says too," Edward said.

"Well, everyone knows Esme Cullen is a lady of good taste."

"So you make pumpkin pie from scratch?" Edward said, feeling more impressed with his assistant all the time.

"Every year there is a Thanksgiving dinner at the home where my foster father lives. It's his favourite, so I learned to make it. But it's time consuming to fight with the pumpkin and my oven is small so I only do it once a year. It's worth it though."

"I bet your foster father appreciates it. Did you learn to cook from him?"

"A little. I cooked in the homes I lived in because often the food was terrible. Living with Liam and Maggie was the first time I had access to really good ingredients. Liam and I bonded in the kitchen I guess you could say."

"Maggie is your foster mother?" Edward had never heard Bella mention her before.

"Yes. She died during my second year of university. She was a jazz singer and larger than life – in both personality and size. She was terrible in the kitchen but always kept us well entertained. She had this wonderful gravelly voice but part of that was due to the amount of cigarettes she used to smoke. That's what killed her, a combination of emphysema and heart disease."

"I'm so sorry," Edward reached for Bella's hand again now that they are done their pies and tea.

"Me too." Bella feels like she should be surprised at how much she has opened up to Edward but she isn't, not really. She knows she wants to open up to him and even though she hasn't liked talking about her past with anyone else she finds it easier to talk about the past than about immediate feelings. Or the future.

Looking around the diner Bella realizes that they are the only ones left, she glances at her watch and internally groans at the late hour.

"It's probably time to get going," Bella says as she pulls out her wallet. "My boss is a nice guy and we are _friends_ and all, but I don't want to push my luck and be sleeping at my desk tomorrow."

"I'm sure he will understand," Edward says. "And I already paid for us."

Bella glares at him.

"What? That's what friends do," Edward hopes he is pulling off an innocent look. "You can get the pies next time."

Standing up Edward grabs Bella's coat to help her put it on.

"Esme Cullen would also be disappointed if I didn't behave like a gentleman at all times," Edward said when Bella looked at him with surprise.

"Of course she would." Bella laughed.

"The other thing friends do is not let friends take the bus home late at night so I'm going to be driving you home."

"No, you don't have to do that," Bella protested. "It's probably out of your way."

"I do have to do this Bella, I really do. I can't stand the thought of you being on the bus this late plus who knows when the next one comes?"

"11:37" Bella promptly replies and then winces when she sees Edward's eyes go wide, and she realizes that she just admitted to riding the bus late at night. "I have the schedule memorized but I don't usually need to use the bus this late at night."

Pinching his nose, Edward shakes his head knowing he can't appear too traumatized by the thought of Bella on the bus in the middle of the night.

"Regardless, I'm driving you home."

Bella knows the look he is giving her. It's his CEO-look. This isn't a battle she is going to win. She is astute enough to know that she won't be at all upset by the extra time spent with him, she just isn't used to asking others for help. Years of foster care taught her to be self-sufficient and not be a bother.

"Alright. I just didn't want to be a bother."

"Bella, it is never a bother to drive a friend home. And I really hope you and I are going to be good friends."

 _Best friends_ , Edward thinks as he holds the door over for Bella to exit the diner.

* * *

 **A/N** : Hello! How are we all doing? I'm not even going to talk about any illnesses or injuries that may have occurred recently b/c frankly it is getting embarrassing and I'm starting to sound like an old lady. A big hello to every one who found this story through the Meet The Mate contest and, as always, thank you to every one who reads and/or replies. I don't do a lot of review replies because I don't always have time or anything to say. But I read and appreciate each one.

 **Funny story** : The day after I posted Chapter 18 I found out that there is an Amelie musical that recently had it's world premiere with the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. I honestly had no idea. Sometimes I have these really great ideas that other people also have and actually make money off of while I sit in my basement making stuff up. When I was little I was convinced that a live-action 101 Dalmatians movie would be brilliant (I grew up with a Dalmatian and read the book many times). My friends thought I was nuts and that it could never be done but then Disney proved them wrong (they had the budget to do so).

Thanks, as always, goes to my wonderful Beta **Darcysmom**.

So, _friends_?


	21. Chapter Twentyone

**Without a Smile: Chapter 21**

"So what do you think?" Bella asks Rosalie after she finished telling her about Tuesday night's post-rehearsal conversation with Edward. It is now Friday and the two of them are sitting in the park eating lunch. Rosalie has been swamped at work and this is the first chance the two friends have had to get together.

"I think that man doesn't want to be _just_ your friend."

"I may be inexperienced, but I'm not an idiot Rose," Bella says rolling her eyes. "Although, maybe I am an idiot around him." Bella says the last part under her breath but Rosalie hears her.

"It certainly isn't like you to be so tongue-tied, that's for sure."

Bella groans. "I know. This is just so far out of my comfort zone."

"How has the rest of your week been?"

"It's been good. Great. Things are more relaxed at work since we had our talk on Tuesday night. After rehearsal last night, Alice's husband, Jasper, showed up and we all went out for pie. It was fun."

"Like, a double-date kind of fun?" Bella can hear the smile in Rosalie's voice.

Bella glances over at her friend and notices how relaxed she looks today. She's wearing jeans and a sweater with a pretty infinity scarf and her hair is braided to one side. It dawns on Bella that Rosalie must not have come from work.

"Aren't you working today?" Bella asks.

"No. That case I was working on was kicking my ass," Rose says while shaking her head and stabbing the limp lettuce in her clamshell salad with her fork. "It has taken up so much of my time that I requested today off. I'm taking a three day weekend before getting back at it."

"Have you been talking to Emmett?"

Rosalie blushes.

"You have!"

"Okay, he said he might be meeting his sister in the park today for lunch."

"So that's why you wanted to go for lunch today, on a day-off no less," Bella throws her head back and laughs. "Rosalie Hale, you have a crush!"

"I'm not even going to deny it," Rosalie sighs. "I've talked to him on the phone a couple times since that night at the pub."

"And...?"

"And nothing. He's still not ready for anything. But I'm ready for him. I can wait. I'm a patient woman."

With that statement Bella snorts with laughter. "No you're not! And this explains why we are on this bench in view of a Falafel place."

No sooner do the words leave Bella's mouth then they see Emmett leaving the Shawarma Palace. However, he isn't alone.

The women are silent as Emmett crosses the street, his arm wrapped tightly around his companion. He notices them as soon as he starts walking along the pathway.

"Hi," he says jovially. His companion squirms to get out of his arms. She takes a couple tentative steps towards Rosalie, her eyes wide.

"Queen Elsa?"

Bella looks up at Emmett to see him trying to stifle a laugh.

"Princess Elsa?" Rosalie asks.

"How did you know my name?" Emmett's daughter is practically vibrating with excitement.

"I know your Daddy."

"Daddy! You know Queen Elsa and you didn't tell me?" The little girl looks fierce as she turns on her father and whacks him on the leg.

"Hey, no violence," Emmett says.

Rosalie leans towards the little girl. "No one is allowed to know. Everyone calls me Rosalie otherwise no one would ever leave me alone."

"Ooooooh," little Elsa says with wonder drawing. And then her face starts to fall and her eyebrows push together. "Are you really Queen Elsa?"

Rosalie really wants the little girl to like her but she hates it when people lie to children.

"No, I'm not. But I really wish I was and the fact that you called me Queen Elsa is the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me."

Bella's head is moving back and forth between her friend, little Elsa, and Emmett. Watching the expression on Emmett's face as he witnesses the interaction between his daughter and the gorgeous blonde beside her makes Bella think Emmett is going to be ready to date much sooner than he thinks.

Bella clears her throat and Emmett's head turns in her direction. "Hi Emmett," she says with a knowing look in her eye and Emmett knows he has been caught checking out Rosalie who looks exceptionally pretty today.

"Hi Bella," he says with a laugh shaking his head. "How are you doing?" His face abruptly changes to a frown. "Shi..oot! I forgot the napkins. Would it be okay if I ran back and got some sweetie and you stayed here with Queen Elsa?" He grins at Rosalie.

"She isn't really a queen you know, Daddy."

"Says who?"

"You go ahead Emmett, I'm sure Elsa and I will be fine for a couple minutes, right Elsa?" Rosalie asks the little girl.

"Yup." The four-year old says enthusiastically. She is still looking at Rosalie like maybe she really is the ruler of Arendelle.

Emmett gives Elsa the Falafels to hold while he runs back to the restaurant to retrieve the napkins.

"So, you do you like Falafels as much as your Dad, Elsa?" Rosalie asks.

"Daddy says his two great loves are me and Falafels," Elsa says with a serious face. "But, I'm getting tired of eating them," she sighs making Bella think of someone much older.

"Would you like a piece of my peanut butter and banana sandwich, Elsa?" Bella asks the little girl.

"Really?" Elsa's eyes light up like this is the best news she has ever heard.

"You aren't allergic to peanuts are you?"

"No, I don't have any allergies but Daddy is allergic to women and de-force a-turn-knees," Elsa says the last part slowly, trying to get the words out properly. As Elsa is finishing her sentence Emmett runs up with a stack of napkins in his hand.

"Uh," he nervously runs his hand over his head. "Princess, that isn't something you should be talking about." He relaxes a bit when he notices Rosalie hiding a laugh behind her hand.

"Why? Auntie Tanya told me. She says women make you break out and hides."

Emmett groans.

"I gave Elsa some of my sandwich if that's okay Emmett?" Bella feels sorry for the guy and figures that's a good enough reason to change the subject. Elsa already has peanut butter all over her face so if it isn't okay it's too late.

Emmett takes a look at his sticky daughter and smiles.

"Mind if I sit down too? We are waiting for my sister." With those words Emmett's phone buzzes. Looking down he shakes his head. "Never mind, we were waiting for my sister but it looks like she got caught in a meeting."

Bella thinks this is a good time to sneak away and leave the three of them to get to know each other better.

"I should head back to the office too," Bella smiles at Rosalie. "Here Elsa, you can have the rest of my sandwich if you want."

Elsa's eyes light up. "I would love that, Belle!"

Bella says goodbye to everyone and makes her way down the path towards her building. When she turns the corner out view of Rosalie and Emmett she hears someone

"Psst Bella. Over here." Bella looks over to see Tanya hiding behind a tree. The sight makes Bella laugh.

"Tanya, what are you doing? Although I think I can guess since you obviously aren't in a meeting."

"I'm giving my idiot brother a chance to talk to another woman without me chaperoning him," Tanya says. "Especially since Elsa is there to keep the conversation light."

"Wise decision."

"Yeah, you think so too? Do you think Rosalie really likes my brother? Even with all his baggage and sad eyes?" Tanya rapid fires the questions at Bella while still peeking from behind the tree.

"Definitely. The baggage and sad eyes just pose a challenge for Rose. And she genuinely loves and wants kids so you don't have to worry about that."

"Oh good. Well come on then, we can talk about this Halloween party that Alice is planning while I walk you back to your office."

* * *

 **A/N** :Thank you every one for reading. This little story now has over 900 followers and 800 reviews. I continue to be blown away every day by your support. This chapter is posting late this week due to things gone on with both my Beta and I. Big thanks to **Darcysmom** for all her hard work. She already has the next chapter and has started editing so it will post on Thursday of next week.

Leave me a comment and tell me your favourite musical and maybe I can work it into the story some how. ;)

Have a wonderful weekend.


	22. Chapter Twenty-two

**Without A Smile: Chapter 22**

Bella is sitting on the bus reading a book when her phone buzzes.

 **Mr. Cullen:** _Good day Bella. How are you this fine morning?_

Smiling, Bella tucks her book back into her bag and types out a response.

 **Bella:** _Good morning boss-friend. ;) What is making you so chipper this morning?_

Edward laughs at Bella's name for him. He has taken to texting her at least once a day. Usually it's in the evening to make sure she has a good night and is home safe. At first it freaked Bella out a bit – except for Rosalie her phone usually remains silent – but now she can admit that it's nice to have someone who is looking out for her when for so long it had been the other way around.

 **Mr. Cullen:** _I'm planning my costume for Alice's Halloween party. Are you going to give me a hint as to what you are going as?_

 **Bella:** _Sure._ _It's from a musical._

 **Mr. Cullen:** _That's not a hint, that's part of the party rules! Please, just one hint._

 **Bella:** _*insert sigh here* Fine. On the 23_ _rd_ _day of the month of September._

 **Mr. Cullen:** _... and?_

 **Bella:** _That's the hint. ;)_

 **Mr. Cullen:** _What does that even mean. This past September 23_ _rd_ _? Did something happen on that day?_

 **Bella:** _Stop pulling at your hair, Sir._

 **Mr. Cullen:** _I'm not. (But only because my hands are occupied with my phone.)_

 **Bella:** _Lol. I like your honesty._

 **Mr. Cullen:** _I guess I have a little less than a month to figure this out. What are you doing today? (And I always try and be honest with you.)_

 **Bella:** _I'm on the bus right now going to see my foster father. I want to take him for a walk because it is gorgeous out._

 **Mr. Cullen:** _Do you usually take him for lunch?_

 **Bella:** _Sometimes we have a picnic in the park but I don't have anything prepared today. Why?_

 **Mr. Cullen:** _Curious. I have to go. Talk to you later._

 **Bella:** _Ooookay. (Weirdo)_

 **Mr. Cullen:** _That's Edweirdo to you Miss Swan. ;)_

Bella got off the bus with a big grin on her face. Sometimes texting with Edward was her favourite part of the day, not that she was ready to admit that to _him_ yet. Pushing through the door to the Home for Fallen Heroes Jimmy noticed her smile right away.

"Why, Miss Bella, what has got you smiling so big this beautiful morning," he said from behind his counter. "I bet I can guess."

"What? Oh, it's nothing, just my boss."

"That must be some boss if he's putting a smile on your face like that. Mmm-hmm, girl." Jimmy snaps his fingers in a 'z' formation and pretends to toss his non-existent hair. Bella can't help but let out a big guffaw at his antics.

"Jimmy, how on earth did you learn to do that?"

"I've got granddaughters Miss Bella. Granddaughters with all kinds of attitude. Sometimes I have to give it back."

Bella giggles all the way up the stairs and into Liam's room.

"Good morning beautiful," Liam says out of the right side of his mouth as soon as he sees her. "You're in a good mood, did something happen?"

"Morning," Leaning over, she gives Liam a kiss on the cheek. "Nothing happened," Bella says as the conversation between her and Edward flashes through her mind. "Jimmy is being his usual funny self."

Liam ignores the blush rising on Bella's cheeks. He usually does.

Bella and Liam take their time getting to the park. The temperature is lovely for the beginning of October and they aren't in a rush. On a whim they decide to stop off at Liam's favourite comic book store to get him some new reading material. The guys running the store love Liam and always come out to help get his wheelchair through the door. The store is crowded with merchandise and the wheelchair won't fit through the aisles but Tyler, the owner, always has a stack of things he puts aside for Liam to look through. Sometimes he even visits Liam at the home but everyone loves it when Liam visits the store because that means Bella comes with him.

Waving goodbye after the guys help them out of the shop, Bella and Liam make their way to the park. Getting comfortable on their bench, Bella was contemplating getting them some lunch when a shadow blocks their sun.

"Hello friend."

"Edward! What are you doing here." Bella could feel her cheeks getting red from the surprise.

Liam looks between his foster daughter and the tall ruddy-haired man standing near their bench and his heart leaps at the sight.

"Hello," Edward puts his hand out toward Liam, ignoring Bella's question. "You must be Bella's foster father, Liam. Bella's told me a little about you."

"Obviously enough to know where to find her," Liam says as he shakes Edward's hand.

"How _did_ you find us?" Bella asked.

"It wasn't hard. You told me you often go to the park near the home. A kind man named Jimmy sent me in the right direction," Edward hoped he wasn't overstepping any major boundaries, but this is all part of his plan to insert himself in all aspects of Bella's life.

"Have you had lunch yet?" Edward asked as he held up a picnic basket.

"You have a picnic basket?" Knowing Edward's lack of cooking skills Bella thinks her shock is justified.

"No, but my mom has a picnic basket and I happened to be at her house this morning when I was texting you. She also had a fridge full of food."

"Which of course you don't."

"Exactly. So we have a couple Esme Cullen specialty sandwiches in here, some fruit, homemade muffins, and sparkling juice. Liam, could I tempt you with egg or chicken salad?"

Liam looks up at Bella and smiles. "I'll take the chicken, Edward."

"Bella?"

"Egg for me, please."

Edward sits beside Bella on the bench, opens up the picnic basket and pulls out the sandwiches. They are perfectly made.

"I can't believe your mom packed a picnic basket for you," Bella says with a laugh.

"Oh she didn't." Edward says shaking his head. "She packed a picnic basket for you. I tried to get her to make me some pancakes this morning and all she did was throw a box of Raisin Bran at me. But the minute I told her I wanted to surprise you with lunch she's pulling things out of the fridge and the cupboards."

Liam laughs and Edward leans over and winks at him.

"Bella has the effect on people," Liam says and grabs Bella's hand.

"Well, everyone in my family certainly loves her. My sister almost wouldn't share her with me."

Bella shakes her head, not sure how to react to all the attention and praise the men are giving her.

"Your sister is the one working on the costumes for _Annie_ , right?" Liam asks.

"Yes. She a bit of a clothing freak and thankfully found a creative outlet for her obsession."

Munching on his sandwich, Liam is filled with a sense of peace he hasn't felt in a long time. No matter what Bella has said, there is no way this man is _just_ her boss.

"Sweetie, do an old man a favour and go get me some caramels from the store over there please," Liam asks once they have all finished their lunch and are sitting around in a comfortable silence.

Bella looks from Liam to Edward and huffs. "You don't fool me old man." But she gets up and walks away anyway.

"You stalking her?" Liam asks giving him his best cop look.

"No, Sir," Edward shakes his head but smiles at Liam. He expected the interrogation. "Just trying to be part of her life."

"She know how you feel?"

"Somewhat. She said she wants to be friends since I'm her boss. I'm letting her set the pace."

"Hmm. You're going to have to fight for her. No one has ever fought for her before. You prepared to do that?"

"Absolutely."

"My Maggie and me I, we took her in but never got the chance to adopt her. The red tape was ridiculous because of Maggie's illness and then Bella became of age and told us not to worry about it anymore. I should have fought her harder on it, even after Maggie died."

"So what do you suggest?"

"She's got a brilliant mind for organization, a fun sense of humour, and the kindest heart I've ever met. But she's as jumpy as a rabbit when it comes to feelings, has them all locked up in a box labelled 'orphan' and doesn't want to be, what she calls, a 'bother' to anyone. Don't let her completely control the pace, or life is going to pass both of you by."

"Okay."

"You say your mom loves her?" Liam asks.

"Yes, my adopted mother. And my sister. And my best friend. They are all conspiring to get us together but I don't want to scare her away either."

"She needs a mom-figure in her life. Foster care can do awful things to kids. Maggie and I felt blessed when we got her, but she was a scared little thing – jumped at every shadow. The theatre helped bring her out of that shell but she's still that scared little girl sometimes. I wish we had gotten to her sooner."

Liam and Edward both notice Bella approaching with a bag of candy in her hand.

"Okay old man. Have you interrogated him enough?" Bella says and rolls her eyes.

Liam just laughs. "Come on Ed, push my stroller back to the home."

"I'm giving these caramels to Jimmy, just so you know. If your nurse finds them in your room we are both going to be in trouble. He can ration them out for you so you had better be nice to him."

"Are you kidding? I've got all kinds of gossip about you now for Jimmy. I'm going to be king of the home this week."

Bella groans.

* * *

 **A/N** : Hello again lovelies! Usual disclaimers apply: I own nothing Twilight related (honestly, I don't even have the books or the movies) or the rights to an musicals (but I do own quite a few on CD), I'm just boring these characters for some literary enjoyment. Thanks to everyone who reads and/or reviews and to **Darcysmom** for being my Beta. All mistakes are mine.

So, I think Bella's clue to Edward about her costume is pretty obvious - at least what musical it is from. He could easily Google it, but will he? Should he?


	23. Chapter Twenty-three

**Without A Smile: Chapter 23**

"Bella!" Alice whisper-yelled from the back of the theatre, but Bella was obviously stuck on something because she wasn't responding. Alice marched down the theatre steps and stood in front of her.

"Bella!" She shouted. "Bell-la! Can't you hear me yell- _la_. You're puttin' me through hell- _la_. BELL-LA!"

Alice finished her song - and the actions that went with it, although she only mimed the ripping off her shirt part - and grinned down at her friend. Bella was now laughing so hard she had tears forming in her eyes.

"Is there something you would like, Stanley?" Bella asked, wiping her eyes. "Back to work everyone," she called out to the cast who had stopped their rehearsing to watch Alice's impromptu performance.

"I was calling you from the back of the theatre _for-ev-er,_ but you didn't hear me." Alice looked like she wanted to stomp her foot.

"Oh, well, I was focused on something." Alice didn't miss the way Bella's eyes quickly flicked over to the side of the stage and then returned to her desk. Up on stage, Alice noticed that her brother, who was sitting on the piano bench, was talking to an older woman who was wearing an impeccably tailored, and obviously expensive, suit.

"Who's the suit?" Alice asked.

"That's the owner of the theatre – or to be more precise, the owner's wife - Victoria. I'm guessing she heard that the illustrious Edward Cullen was volunteering his time and had to come in and personally thank him herself." Bella rolled her eyes. "She hates children, and children's theatre, and usually tries to stay as far away as possible."

"Then why does she bother having the children's performances at all?" Alice asked, knowing not to call her friend out on the jealousy she could see written all over Bella's face. The theatre owner had her hand on Edward's shoulder. Edward, for his part, looked very uncomfortable.

"She thinks it's good PR for the theatre, or at least her husband does. She likes to play up the fact that we have a connection with foster care kids – as if she would ever deign to talk to one of them. She treats them as though they're criminals. Her husband is a pretty nice guy, though, and he likes my work."

"Looks as if it might be time for someone to start her own theatre," Alice winked at Bella.

"I'm nowhere near there yet Alice." Bella sighed.

"Maybe what you need is the right partner," Alice was starting to get jumpy in her seat as an idea slowly formed in her mind. Bella's eyes went wide.

"Alice?"

"Okay, I'm just thinking aloud, but we won't talk about it right now. Besides, that isn't why I was trying to get your attention."

"What's up?"

"Did you hear that they have made _Into the Woods_ into a movie?"

"Of course I did!" Now it was Bella's turn to get a little jumpy with excitement. "Did you see the trailer? It looks great, although I don't understand why they couldn't cast Bernadette Peters as T _he Witch_?"

"I know, right?" Alice all but squealed. She loved having a musical theatre friend. "I mean, I'm sure Meryl Streep is going to be great and all..." she trailed off.

"But Bernadette will always be _The Witch_."

"Amen to that, sister. Anyway, do you want to come with me on opening day?"

"Um, won't you be spending Christmas day with your family?"

"Of course, but this is special. Oh! You could spend Christmas day with us too and then we could go to the movies after dinner."

"Alice. I think we can wait until Boxing Day. Besides, I usually spend the day at the home with Liam helping serve Christmas dinner for all the guys who can't leave to visit family."

"Can Liam leave?"

"Well, yeah, technically. Although his limited mobility makes him feel more comfortable at the home. Plus we have to pay for a handi-taxi if we want to go anywhere."

"Maybe you and Liam could come to my parents' house for Christmas dinner this year!" _Bounce._ "They would love to have you!"

 _Bounce bounce._

"Alice, calm down," Bella said putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "All that bouncing can't be good for the baby."

Alice waved her hand in front of her face, effectively brushing off Bella's concern.

"Besides, you can't just invite us over to their house for Christmas dinner. Your parents don't even know us."

"Bella," Alice said in her best, deadpan voice. "My mother packed a picnic for you and Liam. Do you think she has ever done that for us?"

"Yes, I do Alice," Bella laughed at her friend's attempt to pretend she was hard-done-by.

"Okay fine, but not since we became adults. She loves you! She's a more-the-merrier kind of woman anyway, especially at Christmas. You think about it, I'll talk to her, and you talk to Liam."

"Anyway," Alice continued. "I need to get in the back now and work on some alterations for the Sandy costume, but we can talk later. Are we going for fries after rehearsal?"

"I'm going for pie," Bella said with a smile.

"That's good enough for me!" Alice bounded away.

Bella, as usual, watched in awe at the energy level of her little friend. Pregnancy hadn't slowed Alice down any.

On stage, Victoria was _still_ talking to Edward and _still_ had her hand on his shoulder - except now she was rubbing it back and forth across his shoulder blades. Bella wondered if Victoria was working her way up to a full back massage. Edward turned his head away from the woman and looked towards Bella.

 _Help me,_ he silently mouthed to her.

Bella giggled.

"Okay everyone," she said in her best stage manager's voice, "time to run through that scene _with music_." Bella winked at Edward.

Victoria pouted a bit, but she got the hint and left the stage moving towards Bella.

"My goodness Bella, how did you get him roped into helping out these brats?"

"Oh, how lovely to see you again Victoria, did you change your mind about playing Miss Hannigan, or are you still afraid it isn't enough of a challenge?" Bella couldn't help but snark at the woman.

"Ha, ha. Seriously. How do you know him?"

"He's my," with this Bella paused. "Friend. And he's Alice's brother. She's the new costume..."

"Whatever," Victoria said, cutting off Bella. "I'm going to have to start coming to rehearsals more often. If only we could get rid of all these kids, right? I could climb that man like a tree."

Bella cringed - there was that stupid, over-used expression she could do without _ever_ hearing again.

"I'm sure your husband would love that," Bella replied looking up at the theatre owner. "Besides, if we got rid of all the kids there would be no reason for Edward to be here, and that would defeat the purpose don't you think?"

"Don't get snarky with me Bella. Just remember who owns this place. I could shut this performance down and you could be out of a job in no time."

"Well, I'm volunteering my time, as you very well know, so it's not as if you are paying me. And you have it written up in your mandate to do one children's show a year."

"Yes, well."

"Also," Bella was standing at this point so she leaned in a little. "When it comes to children's theatre in this city, I'm the best there is, which is why your husband and the director invite me back every year. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a bunch of so-called brats to look after, so climb back on your broom and fly away."

Initially, Edward had been surreptitiously watching the scene going on at the stage manager's table while trying to continue playing. But when all the kids stopped singing to listen, he gave up all pretences of not paying attention and stopped playing too. While Bella and the owner's wife thought they were having a quiet little tete-a-tete, everyone could hear them.

Bella looked up at the stage and noticed everyone watching her. "Okay guys, seriously, get back to work." She glanced over at Edward who was staring at her, the intense look in his eyes caused her cheeks to burn.

Edward was glad he didn't have to do anything but play the piano at that point. He didn't think he could stand up without scaring the kids. His quiet assistant was seriously hot when she got riled up. He made himself more comfortable on the bench and started the opening chords to _Sandy_ once again.

Later on that night at their diner, Edward and Jasper sat together on one side of the booth watching the scene across from them. Alice had pulled out her iPad and she and Bella were watching Bernadette Peters sing _The Last Midnight_ from _Into The Woods_. They were also singing along at top volume. Edward would have been worried their behaviour would have them kicked out, but there weren't any other patrons in sight. Doris, their usual waitress, obviously didn't mind – she was in the back singing along while wiping the counter.

Edward would have been a little annoyed that he didn't get to sit beside Bella since that was the whole point of going to the diner. But he loved that she was feeling comfortable enough around him to be acting silly with his sister.

After the last _boom, crunch_ of the song, when the girls picked themselves up off the floor and stopped shrieking, Edward brought up the topic of Bella's Halloween costume.

"So, Bell- _la_ ," he said. "I haven't Googled your little Halloween costume clue yet."

"You gave him a clue?" Alice asked, a little too loudly. "How come I don't get a clue?"

"Well, for starters, you never asked for one," Bella said. "But also, where would the fun be if we all knew what the other person was going as and what they were going to perform."

"We have to perform too?" Edward groaned.

"Of course, silly!" Alice glared at her brother. "That's the whole point of having a musical theatre Halloween party."

"Then I'm going as Beethoven."

Bella giggled because Edward was almost pouting. She remembered that he said he hated to sing in front of people.

"That's not from a musical Edward."

"Fine, how about Amadeus?"

"That's a movie," Alice rolled her eyes.

"And a play," Bella added. "It has music in it. I don't think anyone should have to sing if they don't want to." She grins at Edward. "Singing in front of people can be awfully personal and intimidating."

Alice notices her brother and friend making eyes at each other. "Okay fine," she pretends to be put out but is secretly – or not so secretly because Jasper knows exactly what his wife is feeling – excited by how close her brother and Bella are becoming. Every time Bella sticks up for her brother, she wants to do a little happy dance. In fact, she can't wait to call her mom tomorrow and tell her all about the confrontation between Bella and the theatre owner.

"Okay, fine. Edward, you can go as boring old Amadeus."

"I would hardly call Amadeus boring sugar," Jasper says. "The man was a maniac."

"And Edward would look good in tights and a wig," Bella adds.

"Oh dear," Edward said, his face contorted into a grimace. "I didn't think about that. I may have to revise my choice. At least we still have a couple weeks."

"Quick! What's the clue she gave you?" Alice asked when Bella excused herself to wash her hands before Edward drove her home.

"On the 23rd day of the month of September."

Alice gasps. "Brilliant! I know exactly who you are going to be for Halloween!"

* * *

 **A/N:** If you are on Facebook I set up an account just for my stories. I put up a teaser video yesterday so look for Melistories if you want to follow along. I tried to do review replies last week but a couple people recommended this story on Facebook (thank you!) and I couldn't keep up but thank you to every one who reviews and also to every one who doesn't review but is reading along anyway. The last chapter knocked Without A Smile's followers to over 1,000 and I'm totally blown away.

If you get a chance watch Bernadette Peters singing **The Last Midnight** on You Tube. The quality isn't great but she is still fantastic. Or, better yet, listen to her on the soundtrack - her annunciation and timing are impeccable.

This week both **Darcysmom** and **SunflowerFran** used their red pen to help make this story better but I still tinkered afterward so, yeah, all mistakes are mine.


	24. Chapter Twenty-four

**Without A Smile: Chapter 24**

Bella was in a _Cabaret_ mood Saturday morning as she put the finishing touches on her Halloween costume. If she'd had the music any louder, she would have missed her buzzer ringing. Looking at the clock she saw that it was only 9 a.m. Turning the music down she danced over to her door and hit the button on the intercom.

"Frank, did you forget your keys again?" She said by way of greeting. The only person who ever rang her door was her downstairs neighbour who often forgot his keys when he went out to walk his Scottie dog Sir Robbie and get a coffee. "I hope you brought me something good to make up for it."

After a moment of silence Bella heard a gravelly, "Who's Frank?"

"Edward?" Bella said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Edward glared at the intercom as though he could make this Frank person go away.

"I've come bearing breakfast treats. That's what friends do, right?"

Edward held his breath until the door buzzed. "I'm in apartment 4B. The elevator is broken, sorry."

Thankfully, those four flights of stairs gave Bella enough time to hide away all her costume stuff.

She opened the door just as Edward was rounding the corner from the stairwell.

"Hi," she said, nervously.

"Morning. I hope you don't mind me stopping by like this." Edward smiled at her but she could tell he was nervous too. "I brought treats, just like I said." He held up two large to-go cups and then handed the one full of chai to Bella.

"Mmm," Bella said taking a deep sip as she led Edward into her apartment. She quickly scanned the room hoping everything looked cleaned. Bella could only describe her decorating style as colourful and chaotic but she liked it.

Edward looked at Bella who had her hair up in a messy bun and was wearing a sweatshirt that said, _Javert's got 24,601 problems and every one if them is Jean Valjean_. Then he looked around her colourful apartment and couldn't help but grin. _Holy fuck, she is adorable,_ he thought.

"So Mr. Boss-friend, to what to I owe the pleasure of this early morning visit?"

"Who's Frank?" They both spoke at the same time.

Bella raised one eyebrow at him. "Frank is my downstairs neighbour who often forgets his keys when he goes to walk his dog."

"Oh," Edward didn't really know what else to say to that except the vice gripping his heart loosened a bit. "If I told you I was just in the neighbourhood and passing by would you believe me?"

"Not even a little bit. I can't imagine you spend a lot of time in this neighbourhood."

It was true. While Bella's neighbourhood was being revitalized, it was a slow process and there were still parts that were, in Edward's mind, quite sketchy. If he was being honest with himself he would have to admit that he didn't like Bella's street at all but he did check to see if the door was secure when came in and, even though the elevator was broken, the building looked somewhat cared-for.

"Okay. I came to ask you a favour and it isn't work related, so I didn't want to do it at work and make you feel like you have to say yes."

He waited for Bella to say something, but she just stared at him with her big eyes. In the background he could hear Sally Bowles singing about working in a nightclub in a pair of lacy pants. Bella noticed it at the same time and blushed, then she went and turned off her music.

"Can I sit down?" Edward asked.

"Oh, of course, sorry." Bella moved a pile of blankets off the couch.

"You don't sleep on the couch do you?" Edward asked before he could stop himself.

"No. The bedroom is through there," Bella pointed to the back of the apartment where Edward could see a door. "I just really like blankets. I've found all these at second hand stores but they are all homemade. I like to buy them and give them a new home since they were obviously made with love. I often give them to the foster kids I work with in the theatre as presents. It's always nice to have your own blanket."

"That's," Edward stared, paused, took a big swallow and started again. "That's really one of the nicest things that I've ever heard."

"Yeah well, it's nothing really." Bella shrugged.

"No. I'm sure it's everything to those kids." Edward looked closely at Bella who was now avoiding his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling that there is more to the story behind those blankets?" As Edward asked this he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a paper bag with two still-warm croissants in it and handed them to Bella.

"Well," Bella started once she finished chewing a piece of croissant. Edward had taken his coat off by this time and since Bella hadn't kicked him out he decided he was going to make himself comfortable and stay as long as she allowed. "In foster care, often when you are being shuffled from home to home you don't get to keep many belongings. I mean, you have your clothes, but you're young and you grow out of clothes so you don't really get attached to them. But every new home has new bedding and new smells and there is nothing to carry from place to place that is consistently homey. I mean, maybe you have a stuffed animal or something but a blanket is big and warm and comforting. So even with each new bed you carry a piece of yourself with you."

Edward didn't say anything, he wasn't sure if Bella was finished or not.

"Sometimes though, the bed that is provided isn't great, or the covers are really old and threadbare. I had one home where they would take away your covers as punishment if you did something that pissed them off – and everything we did pissed them off. Those were always the worst nights. It's hard to sleep when you are cold no matter how many layers of clothing you put on." Bella smiled at Edward but it was a sad smile. However, Edward knew the last thing Bella would want was his pity.

"So now you provide blankets to other foster kids and like to curl up on the couch with them too?"

"Yeah, I like the weight. The more blankets the better."

"I think you're kind of amazing. Did you know that?"

"I'm not amazing, I'm just..." Bella trailed off. She didn't know what she was.

"Shh. You're amazing. And I'm going to give you a hug now." Edward reached over to where Bella was sitting on the opposite end of the couch and pulled her to him. Edward didn't plan on holding Bella longer than she felt comfortable with, but when she relaxed into his arms he couldn't help but hold her a little closer.

Bella, for her part, couldn't believe Edward was hugging her. She also didn't want to let go and, _man_ , she thought, _does this man smell good_.

Eventually though they did part and Bella quickly changed the subject.

"So, you said you had a favour to ask me?"

"Yes. Please hear me out before you shoot me down, okay?" He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. Bella could see that his nervousness was back.

"That isn't a very promising lead-in."

"No," Edward gave one short, sharp laugh under his breath while he shook his head. "I guess it isn't."

"Okay, so you know how Tanya is always my date to those charity events I'm attending?"

"Yes," Bella knew exactly where this was going. She had already had this conversation with Tanya.

"Well, she is dating Felix now and he goes to these events too so obviously it is only right if she goes with him.

Bella thought of all the reasons she wouldn't feel comfortable going – all the rich people in fancy outfits that she could never compete with, having conversations she probably wasn't interested in. But then she also thought of Victoria's hands all over Edward the other night and how he had mouthed _help me_ when she wouldn't leave him alone.

And then she thought about him in a tux.

"I'll do it." She said, cutting Edward off from any more explanation.

"Really? You will?" Edward's whole face lit up. "You don't want to hear the rest of my speech? I've been preparing it for days.

 _Okay_ , Bella thought to herself, _that is really adorable_.

"Only if you want to finish your speech." She grinned back at Edward. "However, Tanya warned me that you would need a date in the future for these events, and even though you are my boss, what kind of friend would I be if I left you to defend yourself from the Victoria's of the world?"

"Thank you Bella. This means so much to me." He couldn't help himself, he reached over and grabbed her hand.

"When is this dinner?"

"It isn't until mid-November."

"Good. That will give me some time to figure out something to wear." There was one thing Bella felt the need to say to clarify with Edward. "You realize that I won't be dressed as fancy as most of the women that attend these functions right? I just don't have that kind of money and even if I did spending it on a dress to wear once isn't really my thing."

"I know and, um, I spoke to Alice about this already. She told me to tell you to come shopping at chez Alice's before you spend any money. She said she even has a dress that would be perfect for you that she has never worn."

"I don't know Edward, I would feel weird wearing Alice's clothes."

"It's plaid," Edward said, attempting to waggle his eyebrows at her, which she thought mostly made him look like Groucho Marx.

"Oh, well, if it's plaid that makes all the difference," Bella said, rolling her eyes.

Then they both burst out laughing.

* * *

A/N: I'm posting late this week. It's been a rough week health-wise but I managed to get this chapter done. Thanks to Darcysmom for once again adding all the comma's I consistently forget. ;) If you are on Facebook I'm going to put up a video of Don't Tell Mama - the Cabaret song mention or you can look for it on You Tube. There is a great version done by a young Judi Dench although I usually listen to the 1998 revival album with Alan Cummings and Natasha Richardson & I imagine that is what Bella was listening to when Edward showed up.

Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone.


	25. Chapter Twenty-five

**Without A Smile – Chapter 25**

Bella was feeling uncomfortable standing on the bus, arm stretched high above her, gripping the overhead rail. She was heading to Rose's apartment so they could go to the Halloween party together. If it wasn't for how hard she had worked on her costume, or how excited Alice was for this party, Bella would have stayed home in bed.

Bella was also starting to second-guess her desire to save money. Taking a cab and carrying her costume might have been expensive, but her flowerpot skirt seemed wider now that she was out of the apartment, and her leaves were getting in the way of people. Plus, she was pretty sure she was getting a fever, and in spite of feeling chilled, she felt herself starting to sweat.

Some guy at the back of the bus was staring at her. Leering at her? She wondered if he had a plant fetish. But when he pulled the bell to get off he leaned into her as he walked by and said "I got the kind of sticky, licky sweets you crave, baby." Bella couldn't help but burst out laughing – and so did he. She guessed even perverts liked musicals too.

Once the bus approached her stop, she pulled the bell, and turned sideways to shuffle towards the exit.

"Excuse me," she said when one of her leaves whacked a passenger in the face. "Sorry. Excuse me. _Sorry_." Finally, she made it to the door. Once off the bus and in the night air she breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little bit better.

"What the fuck are you supposed to be?" Rose said by way of greeting when she saw Bella standing outside her apartment door. Rose looked stunning and regal, as Elsa, Queen of Arendelle.

"Audrey Two," Bella grinned at her friend. She knew her costume was going to get a lot of reactions tonight. It's not often that you see a man-eating plant walking around.

Rose took in the sight of her friend. Bella had on green tights with fabric leaves sewn to them. She even had leaves sewn to her shoes. Her skirt was made to look like a flower pot (although it was more than a skirt because it came up so high) and attached to her green shirt (more leaves) were extra arms complete with little plant faces on them. Around Bella's head, she had constructed the face of the nefarious plant with wire and papier-mache.

"You look...," Rose just shook her head. "Only you would choose something like that. I kind of want to hug you right now but you have leaves all over you."

"Yeah, hugging would be a bad idea. You might get bitten by my little plant minions," She reached out her right arm and shook a plant face at Rose.

"Did you seriously wear that on the bus? I bet you are all over Twitter right now."

"Ugh, I didn't even think of that."

"Is your costume warm? You're looking a little pale and flushed."

"It's fine," Bella shook her head. "I'm fine." Bella was a firm believer in the fake-it-till-you-make-it approach to sickness.

"Okay. Well, let's see if we can fit you into my car." Rose was still shaking her head and laughing.

"I'll make it work. The leaves are actually quite soft and malleable so I can bend the wires back into shape if something happens. It's just the headpiece that's awkward and heavy, but it comes off easily." To demonstrate, Bella reached up taking her headpiece off. The lack of weight from it making her feel better. She decided to carry it until they got to the party.

Bella hadn't really been nervous about the party until Rose parked the car – and then Bella noticed _all_ the cars parked up and down the road near the theatre and in the parking lot across the street. Of course, that didn't mean all these people were going to the party, but it was certainly more cars than a normal night.

Alice had been so excited that Halloween was on a Friday this year, and that the theatre didn't have anything planned for the evening. She immediately booked the space and started planning a party. Her enthusiasm was infectious and if Bella had been feeling better, she was sure she would have been more excited. At this point though, she figured she was only there for appearances sake, and then she could go home. Alice had been kind enough to invite all the theatre kids and their friends so it wasn't going to be a crazy, drunken, adult party. In fact, because some of these kids came from homes where alcohol and abuse were a problem, they had decided not to provide adult beverages.

Taking a moment to unruffle themselves when they exited the car, the two friends walked down the street towards the theatre. Most of the theatre doors had been blacked-out with paper, and when Rose opened the main door, it shrieked causing them to both jump and giggle nervously.

"Alice doesn't do anything half-assed does she?" Rose asked Bella.

"Never."

The first person to spot Bella was Esme Cullen, who was greeting people at the door dressed as Glinda the Good Witch.

"Oh Bella," Esme smiled brightly at her. "It's so wonderful to see you again."

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen."

"It's Esme dear, you know that," Esme winked at her and then pulled her into a very awkward hug due to the amount of foliage in the way. "You're practically family, since both my children have adopted you." With that comment, Bella and Rosalie's eyes briefly took on a look of panic – adoption was always a touchy subject for them. If Esme noticed ,she didn't say anything. "This must be your friend, Rosalie?"

"Hi Esme," Rose said, shaking her hand. "It's so nice to meet you."

The lobby was filled with people of varying ages dressed in costumes. Bella recognized a number of the Annie cast running around and chasing each other.

As they made their way through the crowd, a giant Olaf the Snowman approached them. "Would you care for a butter beer my queen?" It was Emmett. Bella started laughing but then immediately began coughing.

"Whoa there, uh, creepy plant Bella," Emmett handed Rose her drink and then started pounding Bella on the back. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said between coughs. "Stop beating me."

"Sorry." To Emmett's credit, he did look abashed. "Sometimes I forget my own strength."

Bella looked around and spotted Edward at the bar. He had on khaki pants and a plaid shirt with a brown sweater vest over it. However, what really topped his outfit off were the glasses and the way the curls on top of his head had been pulled forward. He was dressed as Seymour Krelborn. Bella shook her head. He had obviously told Alice the clue.

When Edward noticed Bella, he stopped what he was doing and stared. In fact, most people were staring. Edward couldn't help but laugh. He should have known that Bella wasn't going to dress up as Audrey, the squeaky-voiced flower shop assistant with the very tight fitting clothes. No, that definitely wasn't Bella's style.

"Hi Seymour," Bella said when she approached him.

"This is definitely not what I was expecting. Alice had you pegged as the other Audrey and thought I should play along."

"Yeah, well, I need to keep you Cullens on your toes somehow."

"I don't think that has ever been a problem, Bella."

The two of them stood there grinning until they heard Alice screeching.

"I can't believe you came as that!" Alice, dressed as Peter Pan, came charging at Bella. "I should have known that clue was too simple. Now this makes what I told Edward to dress up as a little weird."

"Why?" Bella asked. "I think he looks perfect as Seymour."

"Of course he does. If it weren't for the rich family, he would be just as geeky as Seymour too."

Jasper walked up behind them dressed as Tinker Bell.

"Okay, now that is just wrong," Bella laughed at the couple. "A pregnant Peter Pan and a hairy Tinker Bell? You could have at least attempted to shave. And to the best of my memory, in the stage musical Tink is no more than an actual bell and some light work."

"Well, Miss Bella, Alice insisted on matching costumes and I have no desire to sing."

"He can be such a spoilsport sometimes," Alice said, but she was grinning at her husband in such a way that Bella knew she didn't mean it.

"So, does the song you're singing match your costume?" Alice asked Bella.

"It does if you have the music for it. If not, I can do something else."

"I have it. I have them all and if not I can download what we need. Everything is set up in the sound booth."

At that moment, they heard someone starting to sing _I Feel Pretty_ and Alice scurried away to make sure everything was working properly.

"We don't have to watch all the performances do we?" Bella asked Edward. She was starting to feel a little woozy.

"No, Alice has done this sort of thing before. If you want to sing you can sign up and hang out in the theatre, but as the night progresses people either forget to sing or some people get really drunk and hog the karaoke machine. Although, I guess that last bit won't be a problem this time." Edward was studying Bella closely while he answered her question. He didn't think she had painted her skin to match her costume, but she was starting to look a little grey.

"You feeling all right Bella?"

"Oh yeah, I think I just need a glass of water."

"Here," Edward took Bella's elbow and led her to a chair. "I'll go get you a drink; you sit and rest for a moment. Are you hungry at all?"

"Are you offering to feed me, Seymour?" Bella couldn't help answering. To her surprise, Edward's cheeks turned red.

"Um, uh," he stammered while his left arm was kind of waving around in space, pointing at something. "The party is catered. There is a large spread of food over there."

That explained the pointing.

"No thank you. Just water please."

As Bella watched Edward/Seymour walk away, she thought about how she could get out of singing.

She didn't mind performing in front of people, but she just realized that the song that went with her costume was actually a duet with Seymour. A duet about murdering people to feed the plant. That seemed a little awkward now that Edward was dressed as Seymour.

As Bella waited, Emmett and Rosalie wandered back over. Emmett was telling Rose about taking Elsa trick-or-treating earlier in the evening. To no one's surprise, little Elsa had insisted on going as queen Elsa, and she had also insisted on her dad going as Olaf. Apparently, his mom was quite skilled at sewing which is how he ended up as the world's largest Olaf (that was his assumption, anyway). Tanya had opted to babysit and not come to Alice's Halloween party since she was out with Felix the night before at another party. Emmett was happy to have a night out, even if he was sweating underneath all that white fleece.

Someone in the theatre was slowly, and painfully, dying as Eponine while Edward made his way back to Bella. He was sure that was the third girl tonight to do so. Edward was debating whether or not he should go and delete the whole of the _Les Mis_ soundtrack from the karaoke machine. When he handed Bella her water, he noticed that she looked even paler and her hands were shaking.

"Hey," he crouched down beside her. "You don't look so good."

"I'm not supposed to look good. I'm a vicious, man-eating plant," Bella smiled at him but it was a sad, tired smile.

"Bella," Edward used his best CEO voice on her.

"Okay, fine. I don't feel very good, but I didn't want to disappoint Alice."

"You're only going to disappoint people if you stay here and get worse," he took Bella's hand, getting prepared to convince her to go home but it was so hot he didn't need to prepare an argument.

"Bella, you're burning up. I'm taking you home."

"Edward," Bella was trying to think up an argument but, really, the thought of going home to bed was the best thing she had heard all day.

"Save your energy to argue with me about something else. Let's go."

Bella attempted to stand, but the room suddenly contracted in front of her and started going dark.

"Whoa, I've got you." Edward lifted Bella into his arms when he saw her going down. She was pale, sweaty, and hot but still looked adorable to him in her ridiculous plant costume. From across the room, Esme saw what was going on and quickly ran over.

"What's the matter?"

"Bella has a fever, I'm taking her home."

"I'm okay," Bella slurred quietly. Esme reached up and took off her headpiece.

"There, that should make her feel better. I'll get Carlisle to go get your car. You two can wait outside."

Bella wasn't really sure what was going on anymore. She didn't really faint, but she wasn't feeling a hundred percent conscious either. "I'm sorry Seymour," she mumbled as she tucked her head into Edward's chest.

"Hey, now, none of that," Bella heard Edward chuckle and felt a cold blast of air as they went through the theatre doors. And then Edward began to sing quietly.

"Lift up your head,

Wash off your mascara.

Here, take my Kleenex,

Wipe that lipstick away.

Show me your face, clean as the mornin'.

I know things were bad, but now they're okay.

Suddenly Seymour is standin' beside you.

You don't need no makeup, don't have to pretend.

Suddenly Seymour is here to provide you,

Sweet understanding.

Seymour's your friend."

Bella felt something soft press against her forehead and with a sigh gave into the feeling of safety that enveloped her as she fell into a blissful sleep.

* * *

 **A/N** : You know how when you are actively out buying a dress for something there are no dresses to be found? That's what this chapter was like for me. I wanted to get it done by Halloween but the words weren't working and the more important this chapter got the more the words wouldn't cooperate. This is the longest chapter yet so hopefully that makes up for it's tardiness. **SunflowerFran** and **Darcysmom** both did their part holding my hand and telling me things weren't as bad (with this chapter) as I thought they were. I figured people would rather have a chapter that worked than one I rushed through.

Once I again I don't own Twilight, Little Shop of Horrors, Les Miserables or any of the musicals mentioned in this chapter. I am, however, the proud owner of a well-developed delusion that I can sound like Ronette, Crystal and/or Chiffon when I sing along to Downtown.

Thanks again for reading and/or commenting. It means a lot to me and helps me keep going. I don't always respond to comments but I read every single one (usually more than once).


	26. Chapter Twenty-six

**Without A Smile – Chapter 26**

The sun was on Bella's face as she awoke. She felt as though she was surfacing from somewhere deep underwater – everything ached and felt fuzzy. But why, she thought, was the sun shining on her face? She didn't get the sun in her room in the morning.

Small things started becoming clear to her. Muffled voices. Sheets that did not feel like hers. And, she realized with a bit of a shock, that she wasn't wearing pants.

She always wore pants to bed.

With that thought, her eyes flew open all the way. This was definitely not her room, and she wasn't alone in the bed.

Shuffling a bit, Bella rolled onto her side to see Edward asleep beside her. She had a vague recollection of talking to him at the party and of him singing to her and then...nothing.

Bella was trying not to panic at the fact that she was in bed with her boss, and she wasn't wearing any pants. She knew Edward (who was, of course, on top of the covers). He was kindness personified and would never do anything to her. Still, he was asleep beside her. She tried to shift again, and his eyes popped open.

"Bella!" He said with surprise. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep beside you."

"Hi," Bella said softly. Her voice wasn't working and her throat was sore. She didn't really know what to say. "Are we in your bed?"

"Yes. I brought you here after the party. How much do you remember?"

"I remember some of the party, but mostly I remember feeling really tired and achy and wondering if I could go home. I remember you picking me up, but after that things get foggy."

"Well, you passed out for a bit when I got you in the car. I made the executive decision to bring you back here, to my place, to look after you. Executive decisions are kind of my forte after all." He winked at Bella. "Your fever kept getting higher, so I've been trying to keep you cool with a washcloth. I guess I fell asleep."

"How long have I been asleep?" Bella knew that the party must be over if there was sun shining through the windows.

"You've been in and out of consciousness for a couple days."

"A couple days? What day is it?"

"Monday," Edward grimaced; he knew Bella wasn't going to like this news. "Afternoon."

"Monday afternoon? Oh no. I have to call Liam." Bella started to get up. "We need to go to work."

"Whoa there, missy," Edward said as Bella's face went pale, and she started to sway. Her body was not ready to go anywhere just yet, so Edward gently helped her to lie down again.

"I had a long conversation with your boss. He said you needed to take care of yourself. You aren't allowed to come to work until you are one hundred percent better."

"Oh Edward," Bella felt embarrassed and tired. She knew he was right, and that she wasn't ready to get up, let alone go anywhere …even though her bladder was protesting. "I'm so sorry you had to spend the weekend taking care of me."

"Shush you." Edward poured a glass of water from a pitcher on the nightstand, helping Bella sit up so she could drink it. Not surprisingly, she sounded like someone who hadn't spoken for a couple days. "It was my pleasure to take care of you. I will admit that I had hoped the first time I got you into my home it would be under different circumstances, but I'll take what I can get."

Bella shook her head. This man. This man was too much. He couldn't possibly be real.

"Liam?"

"I called him to let him know that you wouldn't be able to visit this weekend. After she left here yesterday, Esme went over with some food for him and probably half the guys in the home."

"Your mom was here too?" Bella groaned.

"Of course she was. She will take any excuse to mother people – especially you. She followed us here on Friday night and changed you out of your costume."

"Oh," Bella breathed a sigh of relief as she looked up at Edward. "That's good to know."

"Don't worry. All of your modesty is intact, but I couldn't let you sleep in that ridiculous outfit. You were sick enough; you didn't need to be speared by a wire from an evil plant spore.

Bella started to cry. She tried not to, but big, silent tears were running down her face.

"Hey, what's wrong? Am I making too many jokes?"

"No. It's just. You guys are all so nice to me and I don't understand why." _Ugh_ , Bella thought, _now I'm crying like a big baby. Stupid flu._

"You take care of everyone else, Bella. Why wouldn't we want to take care of you? What makes you think you are any less deserving of love than anyone else?"

Bella shook her head. She wasn't going to answer that question right now. She didn't think Edward would understand anyway.

Bella wiped away at her tears with the tissue Edward gave her. He didn't say anything, but he knew they would come back to this conversation some day when she was feeling better.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Bella said it so quietly that Edward almost missed it.

Edward helped Bella to the door of the bathroom and left her once he knew she was steady on her feet. He had some soup to heat up, and phone calls to make to worried friends. He suspected Bella wouldn't eat much, but she hadn't eaten anything in days and he was going to get her to try.

Hearing a noise, he saw a paler-than-usual Bella standing behind him in the nightshirt his mother had dressed her in. His nightshirt. He tried not to stare at her legs.

Bella looked around taking in Edward's apartment. The kitchen was gorgeous; in fact, the whole place was gorgeous. It was big and spacious and everything matched. Once Bella looked a little closer, she thought it looked a bit like a show home – like something staged but not actually lived in. As she looked around, she noticed the pillow and blankets on the couch.

"Have you been sleeping on your couch?"

"Well, I certainly wasn't going to have _**you**_ sleep on the couch when you were sick."

Bella groaned. "I feel awful. I kicked you out of your bed!"

"Now, none of that," Edward said while bringing bowls of soup over to the kitchen table. "I didn't do anything I didn't want to do – in fact, I feel honoured that I was able to take care of you even though it was only because you were too sick to protest. Much."

"What do you mean by 'much'?" Bella was almost afraid to ask.

"Well, when you were feverish you talked a bit in your sleep and kept insisting that you needed to go home and that you had things to do. You were worried about Liam too."

"Oh. Well, I should get going soon now that I'm up." Bella started to eat her soup faster and Edward reached out and put his hand on her arm to slow her down."

"Bella, you have been awake for about half an hour after being in bed for a couple days. You're still sick, and as your friend, I don't feel comfortable with you going anywhere. I think if you are honest with yourself, you will find that you don't have the energy to go anywhere either."

Bella looked into Edward's bright green eyes as he spoke. She knew what he was saying was true; she ached to her very bones. But Bella could never relax if she wasn't in control of her situation – and right now she felt totally out of control.

"Let me take care of you. Rose brought by some clothes, so you can change into something more comfortable, and size-appropriate, but then I'm putting you back to bed. If you feel up to it, we can watch a movie."

Bella was trying to think of a way to protest, but instead she let out a big yawn. Her own pyjamas and going back to bed sounded like an excellent idea.

"Okay," Bella conceded. "As long as I'm not too much..."

"Don't finish that sentence, Bella!" Edward cut her off. He seemed almost angry. "You are no bother. Even with being worried about you, this has been one of the best weekends I've had in a long time."

"Thank you… Seymour."

Edward smiled a shy smile at her. "You're welcome, but don't thank me yet, you haven't seen my movie collection." Edward said as he helped Bella up from the table.

"Should I be worried?"

"Only if you really hate action movies."

"Nah," Bella yawned again. "Action movies are great. That's the only kind of action I get." Bella's faced turned red when she realized she had said that out loud. Edward laughed.

"That's okay Miss Swan. That's the only kind of action I get too. That's why I have so many."

Unfortunately for Bella, even the dulcet tones of a screaming John McClane couldn't keep her awake. Edward was sure he had never had a better afternoon - with a sleeping Bella tucked into his side and _Die Hard_ on his screen.

* * *

 **A/N** : Thank you all for your patience. Thank you for reading. Thank you for reviewing - there is no way I can do review replies these days but I read and appreciate every single one. A big thanks to **SunflowerFran** and **Darcysmom** for giving these chapters an extra set of eyes and much needed Beta work. I know American Thanksgiving is this week so let's all be grateful for everything we have - even if we aren't celebrating Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all of you for taking the time to read this story.

See you soon.


	27. Chapter Twenty-seven

Without A Smile – Chapter 27

Bella sat on the bus and thought about everything that had occurred over the past week. She thought about staying with Edward and how attentive and concerned he was about her health. She thought about waking up beside him after they had been watching a movie.

She thought about that time she woke up wrapped around him while he was still asleep and how at peace she felt. How good he smelled.

She thought about her disappointment at going home to her lonely apartment and another dead fish.

Going back to work was fine, the illness was now past, but things were certainly different between them.

Now it was Saturday, and Bella was travelling between Liam's home and Alice's house.

"That man loves you Bella," Liam had said in a burst of honesty. Bella knew that Liam often liked Bella to work things out for herself, but today he hadn't pulled any punches.

"He loves you, and I think if you look deep inside you will see that you feel the same way. It's time to stop hiding away from life." Liam was holding her hand tightly as he said this. "I know your childhood was terrible but not all of life is recovering from a terrible childhood. Don't let the past win. Let that man love you."

These words played over and over in Bella's mind as she stared out the window on the way to Alice and Jasper's house.

"Oh, Bella!" Alice lunged at her when she answered the door, engulfing her friend in as big of a hug as she could with her modest baby-belly in the way. "You look so much better than the last time I saw you!"

"The last time you saw me I was dressed as a man-eating plant," Bella said. "I should hope I look better."

"No, I came to Edward's to check up on you and bring some stuff. I would have come back again to keep you company, but everyone warned me to stay away because of the baby."

Alice said all this as she led Bella into her home.

"That was a wise decision. I don't even remember you being there anyway."

Bella and Alice were now standing in the kitchen. It had a fun retro vibe to it with colourful appliances and vintage canisters and pyrex bowls everywhere.

"Alice, this kitchen is amazing. It looks just like you."

"I know! I love it." Alice said with a grin. "But wait until you see the clothing room."

"You have a whole room dedicated to clothing?"

"Of course I do. Costume designer, remember?" Alice laughed and led Bella down a brightly wallpapered hallway.

The room they entered looked like the costume room of a small theatre company.

"Alice, this is crazy. Where are you going to put the baby?"

"There are two bedrooms upstairs and room to expand out back if we need it." Alice said this so nonchalantly that Bella just shook her head. People with money were hard to understand sometimes.

"Anyway," Alice continued. "There was just so much great stuff in London when I was working for the National Theatre that I couldn't help but bring back as much as I could. In fact, working there is how I got your dress."

Alice pulled a red plaid dress of the rack at the front of the room. It was surprisingly demure looking on the hanger – with long sleeves and a skirt that went to the knees with a beige ruffle peeking out from underneath. There was also black lace around the neck and shaped into the waist. It looked demure but Bella wasn't fooled. That was Alexander McQueen's tartan.

"Alice, even I know who designed that dress. That must be a thousand dollar dress. Alice I can't wear that." Bella's voice started taking on a dangerously high pitch, and Alice rushed over to calm her friend down.

"Bella, I need you to sit," Alice pretended she was asking, but she physically pushed Bella down into a chair in the corner of the room. A chair surrounded by mirrors, much like in a dressing room. Bella could see the panic on her face reflected back at her from every angle.

"Yes, this is an Alexander McQueen dress. I won't lie, it probably cost several thousand of dollars."

Bella started hyperventilating.

"But Bella, I didn't pay anything for this dress. Not a cent. It was given to me by a very famous, and very lovely actress who was working on a play at the National Theatre while I was there. I did some sartorial favours for her because she is getting on in years and the original costume designer wasn't taking that into consideration. So behind the scenes I made some tweaks so she didn't feel like she was – her words, not mine, 'looking like an eggplant stuffed into a banana peel."

"Really?" Bella's breathing was starting to regulate. The dress was, of course, gorgeous. The more she looked at it the more she wanted to wear it.

"Really. She gave me this dress because it was given to her but she said she didn't think she would ever wear it, it really wasn't her style. And to be honest, I've never worn it either because it isn't really mine. But as soon as you agreed to go to this event with my brother I knew, I just knew Bella, that this dress was meant for you. You, who love plaid! I mean, could anything be more perfect?"

Bella really wanted to believe Alice. She was trying to get better at accepting help, but the thought that maybe Alice wasn't being totally honest with her killed her.

"That story is true? Some famous actress really gave you this dress? You didn't just go buy it for me with your pots of money and are pretending you got it for free so that I will feel okay borrowing it?"

"No Bella, I wouldn't do that to you." Alice shook her head and smiled sadly at her beautiful, sensitive friend with the sad past. "That does sound like something I would be tempted to do – but look at this room Bella. It is filled with dresses and costumes. I don't have to spend a dime to dress you up for this party – and neither do you. But this is the dress. Your dress."

"I..." Bella smiled but tears were running down her face. "I can't believe I'm crying over a freaking dress!"

Alice laughed.

"You've had an emotional week, being sick always does that. I suspect you also aren't used to being taken care of like you were this week. My brother is crazy about you. Go to the party. Wear the dress. Have a good time. There is no reason in the world why you shouldn't."

"I've always hated Cinderella stories," Bella said.

"No woman really hates Cinderella stories. They may offend their sense of independence, but every woman likes a good Cinderella story once in awhile – even if they know they shouldn't want to live in one. The problem with Cinderella stories is that they never tell you what happens after the ball other than the rushed wedding to the stranger - that's the unrealistic part."

"So what happens after the ball?" Bella couldn't help but ask.

"I think that depends on what our heroine wants to happen."

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone. Thank you for your patience with these chapters. I've appreciated every one of your comments but I'm unable to respond right now. I was diagnosed with cancer this past weekend, and while that is truly terrifying at least we know why I have been so sick. My obvious focus at this time is getting better and being with my family but writing is also I nice break once in a while so I am still working to finish this story. It's coming to it's natural conclusion soon anyway. Thank you all for your support of this story - it truly means the world to me. And thanks to **Darcysmom** for being there when I send her a chapter late at night and she has it ready by the next day so I can post it.

If you are on Facebook I'm going to post a photo of the dress because it is a real dress that Bella is wearing. Or you can "Google Alexander McQueen Plaid" and it is one of the ones that comes up. I don't always use real life for inspiration but this was always the plan with Alice giving Bella a dress.


	28. Chapter Twenty-eight

**Without A Smile – Chapter 28**

To say Bella was nervous would be an understatement. She sat on the edge of her bathtub looking at the beautiful dress hanging up behind her bathroom door and shook her head. She couldn't do this. Intrinsically she knew she was being unreasonable – it was just a dinner after all. However, it was a dinner with Edward amongst a crowd of the city's elite and deep down she was still that scared little girl who was repeatedly told by her foster homes that she wasn't worth anything. She knew this wasn't true and had fought hard against it for so many years but sometimes your inner scared child takes over and it is hard to fight against.

Bella picked up her phone and texted Edward. "I'm such a coward," she thought to herself, and then she promptly threw up in the toilet again. _I guess if I'm not going it doesn't matter if I wreck the hair and make-up job Alice did earlier_ , she thought to herself.

Edward was putting his tux on when he received Bella's text.

 _I'm sorry. I can do this tonight. Please extend my apologies to your family. I'll make it up to you somehow._

Edward sighed as he responded.

 **What's wrong?**

 _It's just wrong for me to go. I'm sorry._

Edward didn't bother responding. He called his driver and told him to be ready in five minutes.

When Bella heard the knock on her door she had to admit she wasn't surprised. Edward could be terribly stubborn at times. She debated pretending she wasn't there but knew there was no point.

He knocked again.

"Bella?"

"Go away Edward. I can't do this tonight." Bella said as she leaned against the door.

Edward took a deep breath and began to sing.

"Please don't shut me out again.

Please don't slam the door.

You don't have to keep your distance any more.

Because for the first time in forever, I finally understand.

For the first time in forever we can face this hand and hand.

We can..."

"Stop!" Bella yelled as she whipped open the door.

"Are you seriously singing Frozen at me?" Bella wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry. Or kiss him. Well, she did know. He sounded so earnest and he was trying to fight her fire with her fire. Or, her ire as the case really was. Part of her wanted to just kiss him but she knew they had to talk. However, she couldn't let him get to the bit about walking down the mountain together because she would have lost it and she needed to keep the upper hand if they were going to have this conversation.

"Edward, I can't be the person you want me to be."

"What do you know about the person I want you to be Bella? That's what you don't understand. I understand that someone, or more than one someone, once told you that who you are wasn't good enough but can't you see that I don't want you to be anyone but yourself? I've been trying to subtly show you this for months, but maybe I've been too subtle."

"Oh Edward," Bella was shaking her head. The tears were running down her face.

"Please, may I come in Bella?"

She stood aside as Edward walked through the door. Once the door was shut Edward grabbed her hand and lead her to the couch.

"Sit."

The tone of his voice made Bella sit even before she realized that she was being bossed around in her own home.

"I can see you are at war with yourself right now Bella. Normally you are a strong woman who knows what she wants in her professional life and has no trouble going out and getting it. But when it comes to personal emotions you're kind of a mess."

Bella didn't know what to say. He was right.

"I think you will be pleasantly surprised if you come out tonight. Even though some of these people have a lot of money it doesn't make them better than anyone else and no one is going to look down on you for any reason."

Edward took Bella's hand in his, and with the tip of one finger gently directed her chin so that she had to look him in the eyes.

"Come out with me tonight and if you truly hate it, and my company, I promise to never ask you out again."

Bella nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry Edward. I..."

"Hey," he cut her off. "No need for apologies. We all have moments of doubt."

She smiled up at him. This man was too good sometimes. "Even you?"

"Especially me Bella."

"Now," he raised an eyebrow at Bella. "As delicious as you look in that bathrobe, you should probably go put on your dress."

Taking a deep breath, Bella went into the bathroom, fixed her makeup and hair and put on her dress.

When the door to the bathroom opened again Edward looked up and felt his breathe escape him. Bella was gorgeous every day, of that he had no doubt. Today, however, Bella was gorgeous in a fitted plaid dress and he didn't know what to say.

Bella didn't know what to say either. She had been so upset earlier she hadn't really noticed how good he looked in his tux but now that she was dressed, and not crying, the air had changed between them.

After a couple more minutes of staring at each other Edward had the wherewithal to ask Bella if she was ready to go.

"Oh! Of course. Let me grab my purse."

Edward shook his head at his driver and helped Bella into the car himself. He ran around to the other side and slid in to his seat, lamenting the fact that the back seat was so wide.

"You look beautiful Bella. Truly stunning."

"Thank you Edward. You look rather nice yourself." Bella smiled at him. "I think the plaid bowtie is a nice touch, I'm sorry I didn't notice it earlier."

"That dress. It's amazing."

"I think I'm going to wear it every day for the rest of my life" Bella winked at him, starting to feel more like herself after their talk. "Do you think anyone would notice?"

"Well, I can tell you your boss won't mind."

"Good to know."

By the time the car pulled up to the hotel both Edward and Bella were felling more relaxed, more like themselves. He still wouldn't let the driver anywhere near her though.

"Oh, don't you two look perfect together!"

"Calm down, Mom." Edward said as he kissed Esme's cheek. Esme looked as though she were going to cry.

"You're going to scare her away dear." Carlisle said while giving Bella a hug. "How are you this evening Bella?"

"I'm doing well Carlisle. You?"

Carlisle didn't answer, he just smiled and kissed Bella on the cheek before handing her over to his wife who wrapped Bella up in a bone crushing hug. "I'm so happy you're here."

"Esme, I can't breath."

"Whoops! Sorry." Esme laughed as she released Bella.

In the distance Bella saw Tanya and an extremely tall man she assumed must be Felix by the way they were holding on to each other. Alice and Jasper were heading towards them.

"So, you two finally made it I see." Alice couldn't help teasing.

Jasper was about to say something when they could hear someone clearing their throat behind them.

"Hello Edward," Kate from HR was looking at him with a glass of wine and a smile.

"Hello Kate," Edward said. "You know my date, Bella."

"Bella?" Kate was unable to hide the shock in her voice. She hadn't recognized Bella but the moment she saw her she tried to think of something intelligent to say. Instead, "is that a Alexander McQueen dress you are wearing?" Blurted out of Kate's mouth.

Bella looked to Alice for help and her tiny friend gave a slight nod of her head.

"Oh, this old thing?" Bella said looking Kate in the eye. "I just picked it up at Plaids-R-Us, but I know how much you hate plaid."

Kate rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Well, it will be all over the office first thing tomorrow that I was your date tonight," Bella said to Edward. It sounded to him like she was apologizing.

"Good." Was what he said. What he was thinking was that he wanted the world to know that Bella was his date tonight and if the 32nd floor harpies were going to gossip about it he wasn't going to worry unless if effected Bella in some way.

Dinner was announced and Edward gently led Bella back to the table with his hand on the small of her back. He was so close she wondered if he could feel her heart beat through her back because she knew it was thumping forcefully.

Bella was pleasantly surprised at how fun much fun she had at dinner. Tanya and Alice loved teasing Edward and he obviously used to it because he took it all good naturedly. Esme and Carlisle seemed very interested in Bella's theatre work and Esme even had some interesting suggestions for when she opened up her theatre of her own.

Once dessert was done Bella was contentedly watching Carlisle and Esme out on the dance floor while Edward was drawing lazy circles on her shoulder as they talked to Tanya and Felix. Edward was congratulating Felix on keeping Tanya relatively sober for this event but Tanya just laughed it off.

"Oh, Felix is intoxicating enough," she said with a sappy, contented grin and Edward couldn't help but feel truly happy for his best friend. He wouldn't fail to keep that information tucked away for another day when he needed something to tease Tanya with.

When the song changed Edward grabbed Bella's hand and asked her if she would like to dance.

"Of course," she said, looking up at him with a smile.

With one hand on his shoulder and the other on his waist Bella smiled up at Edward.

"Edward, thank you for not giving up on me tonight. I've had a wonderful time."

"I will never give up on you Bella."

The air shifted from friendly to something thicker as the two stared at each other. To prevent himself from kissing her right on the dance floor, in front of all those people, he pulled her closer and tucked her head under his chin. This would be enough for tonight. Just having her here was enough.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you all for your kind words and patience. I've been having a hard time writing this story while I go through chemotherapy right now and I want to do these characters justice and not make them too sad just because I'm sad and feel like crap most of the time. Your support has meant the world to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't worry - they are going to kiss eventually.

Thanks to **Sunflowerfran** and **Darcysmom** for all their pre-reading and Beta help and encouragement. I tried to write you all a little Christmas story but as it turns out I can't write "just a little story" and it turned into a whole mountain of research and more words than I had anticipated - and it isn't any where near done. At least if I am feeling better next Christmas I will have something to offer. ;)

(The usual disclaimers apply: I don't own these characters, I'm just the stage manager running them through these scenes.)


	29. Chapter Twenty-nine

**Without A Smile – Chapter 29**

"Would you like to come up?" Bella asked Edward nervously when the car pulled up in front of her apartment.

"I would very much like to see you safely to your door if that's all right with you." Edward smiled, and even though it killed him, he added, "but I won't be coming in."

"Oh, okay." Bella was trying to figure out what she was feeling. Disappointed? Relieved? A bit of both she decided.

Edward was, of course, a gentleman when he walked Bella to her door.

"I had a wonderful time tonight Bella. Thank you for changing your mind and coming with me."

Bella blushed.

"Yeah, well, thanks for coming over and convincing me. I'm sorry I was such a mess earlier."

Bella turned away, fitting her key into the lock so she wouldn't have to make eye contact for a couple minutes. It had been so long – years – since she had been on a date that she wasn't sure what to do with all the emotions tumbling through her.

"Bella?"

Turning around Bella looked into Edward's eyes. "Yes?"

Edward leaned in, and Bella held her breath. Gently he kissed her on the cheek.

"No apologies necessary. I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir."

Edward grinned and winked, making Bella feel a little more at ease even though her cheek was burning where he had kissed her.

"And that dress really is amazing. Now go inside and lock the door so I'm not tempted to stop acting like a gentleman."

Bella squeaked and quickly scooted through the door locking it behind her.

"Sweet dreams Bella." She heard quietly from the hallway as Edward walked away. Bella leaned against the door and sighed. Then she giggled at herself. She didn't think she had ever felt so giddy over someone, not even when she had teenage crushes.

When Edward reached his car, he pulled out his phone and sent off a quick text message to the VP of Cullen, Inc.

 _ **I would like to meet as early as possible tomorrow morning to discuss an important matter. Let me know when you are available. - E**_

The next morning Edward was sitting behind his desk watching the door. Except he wasn't waiting for Miss Swan, (which is how he spent most of his mornings) he was waiting for Alastair.

The older man had been with the company for years. He had been Carlisle's right-hand-man and was instrumental in helping Edward when he took over the company. Many other men might have felt slighted by the fact that they weren't given the role of CEO after so many years as VP, but Alastair was quite happy in his supporting role – and Edward had never made him feel anything less than validated for his faith in him.

Alastair couldn't help but wonder what was going on with his friend and boss when he received the text the night before. Last minute meetings didn't happen that often; he and Edward ran a tight ship. Plus, he knew Edward had been out at a charity function earlier in the evening, and he couldn't imagine what would have come up so suddenly that warranted a late-night text.

Increasingly curious, Alastair walked into Edward's office a couple minutes after Edward did.

"Good morning Edward, what's up?" No point in bothering with a preamble.

"Shut the door please Alastair." When that was done, Edward stood up and started pacing.

"Is Carmen still planning on retiring next year?" Edward asked. This was not a question Alastair expected.

"Yes, she is. I believe she was going to announce it right after Christmas."

"Alastair," Edward looked at his friend and mentor. "If it is all right with you I would like to have Miss Swan switched to your department. I would like to ask Carmen if she would retire early – with pay of course – and have Miss Swan come work for you."

"Really?" This was certainly news to Alastair. "I thought you loved Miss Swan – you said she was the best assistant you ever had."

Edward sat down and looked Alastair in the eyes. "You are right on both accounts. She is the best assistant I have ever had. And I love Miss Swan." Edward held Alastair's gaze long enough so the man could understand his meaning. At that moment, Bella came into the office. She noticed the chai latte on her desk and looked up. The door was closed but she smiled at Edward through the uncovered window.

Alastair noticed the smile on Edward's face during the exchange and laughed.

"I see. And how does Miss Swan feel about you?"

"Bella and I are getting closer, but I feel as though this is the last area I need to address. We don't have a no-dating policy here, but Bella isn't the kind of girl who would feel comfortable dating her boss. She works very hard to achieve her goals and she doesn't like people gossiping about her."

"Okay Edward, why don't you come up and talk to Carmen later today and see what she has to say. She wants to travel with her husband so early retirement, with the right incentive, won't be a problem." Alastair winked at Edward. "You and Carmen have nothing but good things to say about your assistant so that's enough of an endorsement for me."

"Obviously, Bella doesn't know anything about this yet," Edward said as he rose to walk Alastair out the door.

Alastair couldn't help but smile at Bella as he left the office. She was, indeed, very pretty he thought to himself. It was about time Edward noticed someone.

"Good morning Bella," Edward said after Alastair had left. "Did you sleep okay last night?"

"I did, thank you." Bella lied, thinking about how keyed-up she had been after he had kissed her cheek. It took her heart quite a while to settle after he had gone. "And you?" She asked.

"Just fine." Edward lied. He had been plagued by dreams of Bella in his arms, in that dress, out on the dance floor. He would doze off and then wake up thinking about the way she smelled and the way she felt.

The transfer to Alastair's department couldn't come soon enough.

"Could you make a lunch reservation for us today Bella? Around twelve. Anything you want."

Bella hesitated, wondering why they were going for lunch again this week. Usually, they only went on Mondays.

"Is this a business lunch?"

Edward looked at Bella in surprise. "Does it matter?" He asked not unkindly.

"It's just that I already have lunch plans today." When she saw Edward's face pale, she quickly added, "with Rosalie. It's Thursday."

"Oh, of course, How about dinner after work?"

"We have rehearsal tonight."

"Right." Edward usually went straight to rehearsal from work. In fact, Bella had gotten into the habit of bringing him some dinner from home on those nights since she noticed he would go without.

"Edward is up to something," Bella said to Rosalie as they sat in a cafe.

"What kind of something?"

"I don't know. He seemed awfully cagey this morning. He wanted to go for lunch and then when I said I couldn't, he wanted to go for dinner."

"That is definitely suspicious." Rosalie rolled her eyes. They were having lunch so they could dissect the date from the night before. Bella even mentioned the kiss on the cheek at the door and Edward's comment about being a gentleman. Edward wasn't being cagey in Rosalie's mind. Edward was being impatient. She couldn't blame him either. Everyone could tell he had been mooning around Bella for months. She and Emmett talked about it every day. Even Emmett, who announced that he wasn't ready to date yet, quickly changed his mind when his mom took Elsa for the night and Rosalie showed up with a six-pack of beer and wearing very little clothes. It turned out he was more than willing, and able, to date. In fact, they _dated_ all over his house that night, and had been inseparable ever since.

"What would you have done if he had come in last night?" Rosalie asked. She wasn't going to rehash why Edward wanted a meal with Bella.

"I'm not sure. I mean, he looked so good. He smelled so good, and that plaid, bow-tie was really rather dreamy." Bella sighed.

Rosalie snorted into her drink. "Bella Swan, you have never called anyone or anything dreamy in your life. Please, for the sake of all of us, especially Edward, give the man a chance. He is nuts about you. Go out for a meal with him! Take him home and make a meal out of him! Just do something. The suspense is killing all of us."

"Killing who? Are you guys talking about us?"

"Are you kidding? Tanya texts me every day and asks for updates. I already know every move you two made last night because I received a running text-based commentary from Tanya. And Alice. I'm sure Esme was in on it too.

Later, when rehearsal was done and Alice left for home saying she had a headache, which Bella did not believe for a moment (she had been dancing and singing not half an hour before) Edward and Bella headed to the diner.

"What do you feel like tonight, pie or fries?" Doris asked as the two sat down.

"Definitely pie for me, how about you Edward?"

Edward was already nervously spinning the serviette holder around. "Just some tea for me tonight Doris. Thanks."

"Okay. What's up?" Bella asked when Doris walked away. "You've been acting weird all day."

Edward looked Bella in the eyes and took a deep breath. "I would like you to switch departments and work for Alastair. Carmen is retiring soon, and I would like you to be her replacement."

Bella sat stone still for what seemed to Edward, forever. She would open her mouth to speak but quickly close it again.

Finally, "I don't understand. I thought we worked really well together. I thought..." Bella refused to start crying even though there was a burning sensation creeping up behind her eyelids. "I thought we made a really good team."

"We do!" Edward shouted. "We do," he said quieter this time. "We make the best team. But Bella, I don't want to be your boss. I want to be your everything. If you won't date your boss, then I don't want to be your boss anymore as much as it kills me not to see you all day, every day. I'm willing to trade that in for nights and weekends and anything else you are willing to give me."

At some point, Edward reached across the table and grabbed Bella's hands.

"If you were to be really honest with yourself Bella, I think you would admit that you feel this way too."

Bella did. She really did feel this way for Edward but she still had a hard time believing he could feel this way about her.

"But, you still don't really know me. What if we start dating and you don't like what you find?"

"Are you kidding? You think I don't know you? You think I don't notice how your computer password is based on _Les Miserables_ because you not-so-quietly sing _Two Four Six Oh Ooooooone_ every time you login. I know that you eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches every day for lunch and that you wipe up the area around your desk with a wet wipe because you are worried someone with a peanut allergy might come into the office. I know that the days when you don't have a sandwich for lunch, there is a good chance you gave it away to some homeless person on the way to work that morning. I know that you probably subsidize at least half of Liam's treatments because a lot of them are not covered by insurance. I know your favourite colour is red, you love plaid, you collect hats and rescue homemade blankets and give them new homes. I know that you've told me you don't think you would ever be a good mom but you take the time to hug every single one of those theatre kids after every rehearsal, and they look at you like you are the best part of their day." Edward paused to take a much needed breath and to let Bella wipe the tears from her face.

"And Bella, I can understand how those kids feel because you are the best part of my day. Every day. I've always enjoyed working,but I have never had so much fun since you have come into my life and I don't want to be your boss anymore."

Bella got up from her seat and moved around the table, sitting down beside Edward on the vinyl bench.

"I'm scared."

"I know."

"What if it doesn't work between us?"

"It already does Bella. We already spend most of our time together. We text, we talk, we work together during the day and see each other at rehearsal in the evening. Has there ever been a time when you wished I wasn't around?"

"No," Bella said quietly. "In fact, just the opposite."

"You see. We are already halfway there." Edward took his finger and lifted Bella's chin as he spoke. "All that is missing is the good stuff."

"The good stuff?"

Edward grinned, and then he leaned forward and kissed her. It took Bella no time at all to start kissing him back.

Doris smiled and put down the pie as she sat back on her stool behind the counter.

The pie could wait.

She pulled out her phone and texted Alice.

 **They're kissing. You owe me $20.**

Across town, Jasper was awoken by his wife squealing and jumping on the bed.

* * *

 **A/N:** Woo hoo! It only took them 29 chapters to finally kiss. I hope it was worth the wait. ;) As always these characters are owned by Stephenie Meyer, I'm just the stage manager for this version. Words and ideas are mine.

Thank you all for reading and commenting and enjoying this little story. And for supporting me through this very scary time. **SunflowerFran** and **Darcysmom** helped clean it up after I wrote this chapter in one night when I couldn't sleep. (Which can be blamed more on an abundance of Thai food and not the cancer.)

I hope you all have a wonderful day.


	30. Chapter Thirty

**Without A Smile: Chapter 30**

Work was somewhat awkward the next day but only in the sense that Bella and Edward couldn't stop smiling at each other. After they had stopped kissing at the diner, Bella agreed they didn't need to wait to start dating – if she was transferring departments then that was good enough for her. Edward felt as if he could fly, but instead he drove her home, saw her to her door, and kissed her again so hard that it took Bella a long time to fall asleep. Especially since Edward kept texting her silly song lyrics after he got home.

Today Bella was going to start shadowing Carmen so she could take over her position.

"Good morning Bella!" Carmen sang when Bella came into her office. "Don't you look nice today."

It was a red dress day. How could it not be after those kisses last night? Bella almost started giggling again when she thought of how Edward's eyes popped out of his head when she walked through the office door this morning. He had actually growled at her and said something about not letting her out of his office but they both knew it was best that she start shadowing Carmen right away.

It was Friday and all weekend they were going to be busy with dress rehearsals. _Annie_ was set to alight the stage the following weekend. Edward told Bella he wanted to take her out for dinner that evening on a real date – not a fake lunch date that he had been forcing her into for the last couple of months. Bella laughed when he told her he had made up an excuse to go out for lunch with her every week – something he had never done with any of his other assistants.

"So, I should feel special then?" Bella laughed.

"Always." Edward couldn't help but be serious. "I hope you always feel special Bella."

Bella blushed and quickly left to go to Carmen's office.

Other than some good-natured joking on the part of Edward and Bella, Carmen was professional while she showed Bella around her office and took her through one of Alistair's typical days. Learning his calendar wasn't going to be a problem because the program was the same throughout the company. Bella and Carmen agreed that it would only take about a week of the two of them sharing assistant duties for Alastair before Bella could take over completely. Of course, that meant a replacement needed to be found for Edward.

Edward decided he was going to talk to HR himself and wanted to tackle that right away. Kate, as usual, was always excited about a visit from Edward but she was nervous about their last encounter too. She didn't really want to talk about the bullying workshop that she, Lauren, and Irina had been taking. She was still embarrassed that she had to go at all.

Edward waited for Kate in one of the smaller boardrooms. He couldn't help the grin that kept popping up on his lips as he thought of all the things he and Bella had spoken about the night before. When Kate entered the room, she stopped and stared for a moment. She had never seen Edward look so happy. No, she admitted to herself, that isn't exactly true. He looked even happier the night of the charity dinner with Bella Swan on his arm.

"Ah Miss Quinn," Edward said as he stood and motioned to a chair. "Come in and sit down."

"Hello, Mr. Cullen. How are you doing this morning?"

"Really well thank you."

"So, what did you want to see me about?" Kate had to admit the curiosity was killing her. She didn't have many one-on-one meetings with Edward.

"Alastair and I have agreed to let Carmen retire early. She had planned to retire sometime in the New Year, but right now I have Miss Swan shadowing her. Miss Swan is going to take over for Carmen and I'm going to need a new assistant."

Kate felt a little stunned. Could the do-no-wrong Miss Swan be getting demoted? Is that why Edward looks so happy? That didn't make sense.

"Miss Swan has agreed to this I assume, sir?"

"Of course," Edward replied with a smile. "She and Carmen are working together right now to make the transition as smooth as possible. But I would prefer to get someone in quickly so that Bella doesn't have to do both jobs at the same time."

"Okay. Well, I can pull some of the resumes we have on hand, take a look at them, and send you the top three. Plus, we can put out a job posting if you don't like any of the candidates we have on hand."

"That would be great. We also need to discuss setting things up for Carmen's retirement."

Kate and Edward talked for a while about retirement logistics for Carmen as well as plans for a retirement party hosted by the company. Kate agreed to get some resumes to Edward by the end of the day.

"Sir," Kate stopped at the door and turned around. "I can't help but wonder why you would want Miss Swan to work for Alastair instead of you if you have always been happy with her work?"

"Well, not that it is anyone's business and I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself for a while, can I trust you to do that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Bella won't date me if I am her boss." _There_ , Edward thought … _That should take care of the women on the 32_ _nd_ _floor bothering me._

"Oh." Kate didn't know what to say for a moment. "This company doesn't have a no-fraternization policy, though, so why should it matter?"

"No, the company doesn't. However, Bella has a strict no-dating-her-boss policy."

Kate now understood why Edward was smiling like a loon when she came into the boardroom earlier.

"I can understand that," she said. As Kate walked back to her office, she realized that Bella Swan was probably smarter than she gave her credit for – and obviously, there was something about her that the CEO of the company was totally smitten with. Kate was surprised to find that she wasn't even that jealous. She had always found Edward attractive but didn't know him very well. She did, however, like him enough to be happy for him, which wasn't something she expected to feel. Maybe that bullying workshop was paying off in some way.

* * *

"Are you ready for Falafel Friday?" Emmett boomed as he entered the tiny cafe.

"Really Emmett? Falafel Friday?" Edward said as he looked at the excitement on his friend's face.

"What? I'm going to make it a thing. You know, like Taco Tuesday or Meatless Monday." Emmett said the last two words with a fake shiver.

"You do realize that Falafels are a staple of vegetarians everywhere, right?" Bella said somewhat breathlessly. Edward's hand was lazily drawing circles on her back as they sat side by side on at the table. They had been enjoying some quiet time together as they waited for Emmett and Rosalie to arrive. Rosalie was running late as per usual.

"Sooooo," Emmett dragged the word out as his eyebrows danced. "What's new with you two?"

"Does everyone know?" Edward asked.

"Are you kidding?" Emmett made a sound that Bella thought could only be described as a _guffaw_. Alice was on the blower last night informing everyone that you two were kissing in the diner. I'm out fifty bucks to Rosalie.

"What!" Bella said a little too loudly. "What? How would Alice know?"

"Alice of the all-seeing-eye has spies everywhere," Emmett said. "I'm surprised Esme hasn't shown up at your work yet to take wedding dress measurements."

Bella groaned and hid her face in Edward's chest giving Edward the perfect opportunity to touch her hair and kiss her head.

"Can we not have even twenty-four hours to enjoy this before the wolves descend?"

As Bella spoke, Rosalie slid into the seat beside Emmett.

"Of course not. You two are the most disgustingly cute couple on the planet. And everyone is happy for you." Rosalie's smile was wide as she spoke. "Especially me." She held out her hand to Emmett, who slapped a fifty-dollar bill into it.

"Do we even want to know what you guys were betting on?" Edward asked.

"Probably not," Rosalie said. "So, rehearsals all weekend?"

"Yes," said Bella sitting up. "It's crunch time but we're ready. We have a really great group of kids this year."

"You say that every year," Rosalie said.

"Yeah, well, I like working with kids and I'm always grateful when I get the chance to do it."

Edward watched Bella as she talked about the production. Emmett went and got them all Falafels and Edward couldn't help but feel perfectly at peace with the situation. Who knew that sitting in a dingy little Falafel joint hanging out with his best friend and his best friend's girl, who was also best friends with his girl could be so satisfying? Who knew having a girl could be so satisfying? He was thinking about how maybe he and Bella should order in before going to rehearsal because there wouldn't be enough kissing time if they went to a restaurant, and what he really wanted was more kissing time with her. His thoughts started to veer off in another direction when he was hit in the face by a piece of pickle covered in tahini sauce.

"Hey," he said as he wiped his face with a napkin and looked at a grinning Emmett. "What was that for?"

"Just bringing you back to reality lover boy. You need to eat so we can get back to work. Not all of us can own our own companies and slack off daydreaming about beautiful brunettes," Emmett winked at Bella.

Rosalie laughed. She was trying to keep her excitement for her friend under wraps but what she really wanted to do was squeal and hug her. Bella wasn't the kind of girl who would appreciate that response, whereas the night before both Rosalie and Alice were squealing on the phone to one another. Rosalie thought that it was funny how invested everyone was in Bella and Edward getting together but she knew her kind-hearted friend deserved to be happy and believed Edward was just the guy to provide that happiness. If he wasn't she would make sure he paid the price. However, as she watched them make moon eyes at each other across the table, she knew she had nothing to worry about.

* * *

 **A/N** : Big thanks to **Darcysmom** and **Sunflower Fran** for helping me with this chapter. Thankfully chemo is done for a while so I feel like my brain is coming back somewhat. It is hard to write when it is fried. I appreciate each and every comment and message everyone has sent even though I can't reply to them all. Things are starting to wind down for our couple and hopefully you won't have to wait too long before I get the next chapter out.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend.


	31. Chapter Thirty-one

**Without A Smile: Chapter 31**

As the applause died away and the cast, including Edward, stood on the stage to take their final bow of the performance, Edward couldn't help but stare at Bella. She had the biggest, most beautiful smile on her face. And even though the director and cast got all the accolades, Edward knew that it was Bella who really ran this show and kept everything together. This was where she belonged. Where she thrived. Edward wanted to do whatever he could to help her achieve her dreams.

Edward waited patiently as the last crying child hugged Bella tightly during the after party. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but the child smiled as she and Bella wiped tears from their eyes. The small girl named Bree was one of Bella's favourite foster kids, and at the age of 10 was quite the amazing little actress. She actually reminded Edward of Bella with her long dark hair and big brown eyes. Rather shy and quiet around other people, Bree was a force to be reckoned with on stage as the youngest orphan Molly. When she belted out "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile," he got goosebumps that had nothing to do with happy memories of Bella dancing around his office. Edward didn't know what Bree's story was because Bella was fiercely protective of the foster kids who took part in the this theatre.

"Everything okay?" Edward asked when Bree walked away and he could once again be by Bella's side.

"Yes." Bella said wiping tears from her eyes. "Well, mostly. Bree says she thinks she will be moving foster homes again and isn't sure if she will be allowed to come back to the theatre when she moves. It's always such a stressful experience for these kids."

"Is there anything you can do?"

"Not much, but I do know her social worker Angela – that's the woman over there hugging Bree – and she will make sure the new home knows about Bree's love for theatre and the programs available for her."

Edward could tell Bella was worried but decided not to press the issue, she would vent at him when she felt the need to do so. Right now all he wanted to do was take his girl home. He also wanted to get away from the owner's wife who had been stalking him all night much to Bella's annoyance. "She never comes to these things for more than five minutes," an exasperated Bella told Edward earlier.

When Edward pulled up to Bella's apartment and turned to her he was surprised by the look on her face.

"Um, there is a parking spot behind the building if you want to come up and stay for a while."

It's not as though Edward hadn't been in Bella's apartment before. However, during the last two weeks of their dating life they were so busy with rehearsals and the play that he forced himself to be content with walking her to her door and kissing her there. She hadn't once invited him in.

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

When Bella confirmed in the affirmative, Edward drove around the block and through the alley. The back of the apartment building was even more run-down than the front and there were no lights on.

"You don't come back here often do you?" He tried to keep his voice calm.

"Almost never. I don't have a car so there isn't any real need."

"Oh. Okay." Edward breathed a sigh of relief.

"I know." Bella couldn't help but smile at Edward, she was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking but was too much of a gentleman to say. "It doesn't look very safe but I've only been mugged twice while putting out the garbage."

"What?"

When Bella's laughter filled up the car he knew he'd been had.

"Come on prep-school boy. I'm a lot tougher than I look you know and I've had two policemen father-figures in my life."

He smiled. "Indeed."

However, when they were standing inside Bella's apartment she started getting nervous again.

"So..." Bella trailed off, looking around her apartment for inspiration on something to say. "Want a drink?"

"Hey," Edward's pointer finger gently raised Bella's chin so that she was looking at him. "It's just me. You don't need to be nervous. I don't expect anything."

"I'm not ready to, um, get naked yet." Bella said.

Edward felt like his eyes shot up into his forehead. He knew Bella wasn't ready but hearing her say the word naked surprised him.

"But, I would like it if you stayed the night."

"Bella," Edward whispered as he kissed her on the left cheek. "I would love," kiss on the right cheek. "To stay the night," kiss on the forehead. He could feel Bella leaning into him. "And no nudity is required." Now he was trailing kisses down her neck. "I will wait for you as long as it takes."

When he started nibbling on her ear she grabbed him by the shirt front and attacked his lips.

However, in the middle of the night Edward woke up to feel Bella squirming her way into his arms. She kept backing up and rubbing herself against him as though she couldn't get close enough.

"Bella."

"Hmm?" She sounded half asleep.

"I know I said I would wait for as long as it takes but if you keep rubbing against me like that you are going to make the situation even harder. I'm only human after all."

Edward could tell the exact moment Bella knew what he was talking about because her breathing changed and then she started giggling.

"Sorry," she whispered through her giggles. "I wasn't trying to turn this into a _hard_ situation."

This time it was Edward's turn to attack Bella's lips.

Hours later Bella was staring at Edward as he slept beside her. She could tell he was waking up and when he turned his head towards her and slowly blinked his eyes open she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"Good morning beautiful." He said in a sleep-heavy voice. "What are you smiling about?"

"I've never woken up with a boy before. What happens now?"

Edward laughed and pulled Bella close to him.

"I hope you aren't disappointed Miss Swan but you aren't waking up with a boy right now. I'm pretty sure I have been a man for a while."

Bella laughed and gently hit his chest with her hand.

"You know what I meant."

"I do. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I woke up next to someone either – except for the night Emmett's wife decided to leave him and he got stupid drunk and passed out in my bed."

"That must have been unpleasant."

"It was. Of course, I could have slept on the couch, but I was so worried about him that I didn't want to leave him alone. For such a big guy he is a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. Tanya could always drink us both under the table."

"That doesn't surprise me about her."

"But to answer your question, I think we get to make our own rules in this relationship, don't you? As for right now. We should get up, get dressed, and go to work. Since it is Monday I will take you for lunch and given the opportunity I will call you into my office under false pretenses and try to kiss you."

"You aren't worried about doing the walk of shame in your clothes from yesterday?"

"I have a spare set in my car."

"You do? Were you so certain that I would invite you in last night?"

Edward laughed.

"Not at all. But I wasn't going to let a little thing like clothing stand in my way in case you did. To be honest, they have been in my car all week." He winked at her. "Besides, you were upset last night over the play ending and having to say goodbye to your kids, so I wanted to be here for you."

"Thank you Edward. That really means a lot to me." Bella looked up at his sleep rumpled face and felt like she could swoon. This man didn't seem real sometimes.

"So, Mr. Cullen. What are you going to do with all your free time now that rehearsals are done?"

"Back to Mr. Cullen is it?" Edward moved so quickly that Bella yelped when he landed on top of her. "Well Miss Swan, I can think of a few things with which I would like to fill my time."

Carmen didn't say anything when Bella arrived late at the office that day closely followed by a smiling Mr. Cullen.

* * *

 **A/N:** Things are starting to wind down for our couple. How is everyone doing?

Thanks again to **Darcysmom** for her sharp eye and Beta skills. I seem to have gotten a lot more followers after the last chapter (where did you come from?), so hello to all the new readers. And of course, thanks for all the wonderful comments and well wishes. I hope you are all having a wonderful day.


	32. Chapter Thirty-two

**Without A Smile - Chapter 32**

Bella woke up on Christmas morning with a smile on her face. She suspected she had been smiling in her sleep – in fact, her cheeks hurt a bit. She rolled over to find a naked Edward staring at her.

"Merry Christmas gorgeous."

Bella pulled the covers up over herself.

The last couple of weeks had been a series of firsts for her. First time sleeping beside a man. First time having a family dinner with a boyfriend. A couple of other firsts happened last night, and now, Bella was waking up naked beside a man ... also for the first time, ever. She felt surprisingly relaxed about the whole situation, but maybe that was because her body was still sore from last nights firsts (and seconds). Or maybe it was because she and Edward knew each other so well.

Still, in the (very dim) light of day she did feel a little awkward lying there with no clothes on.

"You're thinking too much," Edward said as he reached for her and served up some thirds.

Later, they sat at Edward's kitchen table eating breakfast and grinning at each other. This was the first time Bella had slept at Edward's apartment.

"I like you here." He said as he popped some scrambled eggs in his mouth. "I think you should stay permanently."

"Don't you think it's a little soon for that?"

"I don't. But I know you do. I'm just saying that whenever you're reading, I'm ready."

"Wow." Bella wasn't sure what to say.

"Relax Bella," Edward laughed. "I don't expect an answer. And I certainly don't expect you to say yes. I'm willing to move at your pace. Someday, though." Edward let that thought hang in the air.

Bella smiled and continued to eat her breakfast.

"Can I give you your present now?" Edward asked once Bella put the last bite of toast in her mouth.

For the first time in as long as he could remember, Edward had been looking forward to Christmas. This year he even got a tree so that he would have a reason for Bella to come over. Bella, being the passionate girl that she was, loved Christmas and put her heart into its celebration. However, her small apartment didn't leave much room for a tree so she only ever had a small tabletop one. When Edward suggested they go shopping for ornaments, Bella said he could use hers. To his surprise, Bella had two large tote boxes filled with ornaments given to her from her theatre kids over the years.

"Well, we often have a show around Christmas time, and so this is an obvious choice for a final night present. My favourites are the homemade ones."

Indeed, Edward's tree wasn't quite what he expected it was going to look like when he had planned to buy his ornaments at an expensive department store. It was even better and he couldn't help but love it. The night they decorated Bella told him the story behind each ornament, and he could tell she was excited to finally have a tree on which to put them.

"I thought you gave me my presents last night," Bella said, trying to be coy but her red cheeks gave her real feelings away. "And this morning."

Edward grinned at her. "I think those were mutually beneficial presents that we gave each other. This one is mutually beneficial as well."

He grabbed their mugs and told her to follow him to the living room. When they were seated, and Bella was wrapped in a cosy blanket, with the tree lights on, Edward handed her an envelope.

"What's this?"

"It's your Christmas present of course."

"Is it a pink slip? Am I being fired?"

Edward laughed. "Hardly. I am a little jealous of you working for Alastair you know. He gets to see you all day, and I don't."

"Well, just to ease your mind, he doesn't leave the blinds of his outer office windows open." Bella winked at him.

What Bella pulled out of the envelope were two plane tickets to London for the spring.

"Edward, this is too much!"

"I knew you would say that, but like I said, this is a mutually beneficial present – my name is on the other ticket so you have to take me with you. I thought we could go and see some theatre productions while we were there. Maybe take in some musicals?"

Bella couldn't help but laugh. He looked like a little boy; the way the excitement was shining across his face.

"Thank you so much, Edward. But this makes my gift look like the dog's dinner."

"None of that now; you know I will love whatever you give me."

Bella pulled a box out from under the tree. She had decorated the brown paper wrapping herself with doodles all over it. Doodles of good memories they already had together: Edward at the piano during rehearsals, pie and fries at the dinner, Audrey Too and Seymour from the Halloween Party.

"Bella," Edward said with a sigh. "I almost don't want to open this work of art."

"Don't be silly, they're just some doodles."

"Oh, it is so much more than _just some doodles_." Edward said emphatically. Indeed, he was trying so hard not to rip any of the paper. He wondered if it would look weird if he had it framed for his office.

Inside the box was a blue and bronze striped scarf, which had been knit with very soft yarn.

"Is this what I think it is?" Edward laughed as he pulled out the scarf and put it around his neck. "Did you make this for me?"

A couple of weeks before, Bella and Edward had sat on the couch with a laptop between them being sorted into their Hogwarts houses on the Pottermore website. Bella was a Gryffindor and Edward was a Ravenclaw. Bella wasn't surprised that Edward was a Ravenclaw, but she didn't think she fit the Gryffindor mould. "Are you kidding," Edward had said. "You're the bravest and most loyal person I know."

"Yes Gilderoy, it is," Bella said in answer to his question about the scarf.

"Very funny. But seriously, Bella, I love that you made this for me. What is this made of?"

"Alpaca and silk. We wouldn't want anything too coarse rubbing up against your beautiful skin now would we?"

Edward grabbed Bella and sat her on his lap. "I'll give you something coarse to rub up against your beautiful skin." He said with a laugh as he rubbed his scratchy face against her neck. "How long until we are forced to go to my parents' house?"

"About two hours," Bella's voice was a little breathless because Edward had started gently nipping at her neck.

"That sounds about right," he said as he stood up while still holding on to her. "I'm going to show you that wit beyond measure isn't this man's only treasure."

They both laughed all the way to the bedroom.

Christmas dinner at the Cullen residence was probably one of the most joyous affairs that Bella had ever attended. Liam arrived at the same time they did. Much to Bella's shock, and Edward's slight embarrassment, it seemed that Liam now had the use of a Handi-van whenever he needed to go anywhere.

"It's not as if I bought him a van, Bella. It's just that I've made it worth the while of the driver to be available whenever Liam needs to go somewhere."

This entire conversation took place with Liam and the driver standing on the doorstep.

"You must be the lovely Bella I keep hearing about," the driver said trying to ease the tension. He was a jolly looking fellow who could have passed for Santa Claus except that his beard and hair were streaked with red among the white hair of his age. "The wife doesn't mind me popping out on Christmas day to work for a bit – plus Liam has become a bit of a friend of our family, and we have had him over for dinner a couple times. The missus and I remember hearing his Maggie sing years ago. In fact, we had our first date at the jazz club where she used to perform."

Bella looked at Liam, who was grinning from ear to ear.

To the driver's surprise, Bella reached out and pulled him in for a hug.

"Thank you," was all she said.

"You're right Mr. Cullen, she is a real sweetheart," and with that parting shot, the driver winked and went back to his van.

"I don't think I will ever get used to your family's money Edward," Bella said later as they sat around the Christmas tree, stuffed to the gills with turkey and the remnants of the massive, present opening strewn around them. Everyone had known about Edward's gift to Bella, and many of her presents reflected that. Alice had bought Bella a full set of luggage – in plaid. Alice knew Bella would think it an unnecessary expense but she teased Bella that she probably had an old carpetbag that had to be held just-so or the handle would fall off like Anne Shirley. That assessment wasn't far from the truth.

"You're not an orphan anymore, Bella," Jasper said with a kiss on her cheek.

It was too late to go to the movies and see _**Into The Woods**_ even though Alice was half-heartedly lobbying for it. Bella didn't want to leave the warm Christmas cocoon she had found herself in. Instead, they put the soundtrack for _**Into The Woods**_ on the stereo.

Full of turkey and contentment, Bella lay on one couch, her head on Edward's lap. Alice lay on the other couch, her head in Jasper's lap while her hand mindlessly rubbed her protruding belly. As they relaxed, singing along to one of the songs, Bella couldn't help but feel that she really wasn't an orphan anymore. She had always been so afraid of letting people in … because the risk of them leaving seemed so great.

"Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the woods.

Do not let it grieve you. No one leaves for good.

You are not alone.

No one is alone."

Edward looked down at Bella's face while he sang the words to her. If he had to choose one job to do for the rest of his life, it would be to make sure Bella never again felt alone.

She reached up and rubbed his cheek with her hand basking in the warmth of finally having the love she deserved.

* * *

 **A/N:** I could easily hit complete on this story after this chapter but I have an epilogue and a future-take planned for our sweet and musical couple. It has been almost a year exactly since I started writing and posting this story and it has been a really crazy year. Thank you so much for supporting me and coming on this journey with me. I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it and connecting with all of you.

Thanks again to SunflowerFran for her amazing Beta skills on this chapter. All mistakes are mine because I still tinker after she sends them back. Thanks to Darcysmom for all her help even though I was too impatient to send her this chapter. The epilogue is complete and so is most of the future-take so I won't make you wait too long.


	33. Epilogue

**Without A Smile: Epilogue**

Bella was having the best time in London. They had been there a week and had seen so many theatre productions that Bella was starting to lose count. Some days they saw two in one day. They had also been to the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. As a girl who grew up thinking she would never go anywhere, she was definitely making the most of this opportunity.

This morning they lay in bed wrapped up in each other. Both were exhausted from the past week of non-stop sightseeing.

"What do you want to do today?"

"Get married."

The words hung in the air of their hotel room.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Is this a hypothetical, _let's get married someday_ question, or a non-hypothetical _let's get married soon_ statement?"

"It's a _let's get married now,_ statement. Let's get married while we are here."

"I don't know what to say."

"The obvious answer, I hope, would be yes."

Bella rolled over on top of Edward and looked him in the eyes. "Tell me you don't have a ring on you right now, hmm? One that you have probably been carrying around for months?"

Edward huffed out a laugh and looked abashed. She knew him too well.

"I'm asking you, Edward Cullen, to marry me."

"Of course, I will marry you. I would have asked months ago if I thought I could have gotten away with it."

"I know. That's why I'm asking you. I love how patient you've been with me and all my hang-ups, but I don't need to wait for this Edward. I love you, and you love me. We live together and plan on spending the rest of our lives together. I'm tired of being scared of a future full of what-ifs. Marry me Edward."

"Yes, Bella. I will marry you." Edward couldn't contain his smile. He reached up and gently pulled Bella's face to his, kissing her deeply. He broke the kiss and quickly jumped out of bed to grab something from his dresser drawer. Then he knelt on the floor on Bella's side of the bed.

"I think, future Mrs. Cullen, that this belongs to you." He said while he slipped a ring on her finger.

"Oh Edward, it's beautiful. But shouldn't I be getting you a ring since I asked you?" Bella teased.

"You are enough sparkle for me."

They celebrated by not leaving their hotel room that day.

Two days later found them standing in a famous blacksmith's shop in Gretna Green, Scotland. Bella, a lover of English literature, had always thought the place sounded so romantic. They had called their families to arrange a time to Skype. Their families and friends were all assuming that the couple was calling to announce their engagement and had no idea what was really about to happen.

First, they called the Cullen household where they found Esme, Carlisle, Liam, Alice and Jasper holding the newest family member, a baby boy, crowded around the screen.

Even through the grainy connection, they could see that Alice was excited.

"How are you doing son?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm great Dad. Give us a moment to connect with Emmett and Rosalie.

Soon after, another window popped up with Rosalie, Emmett, Elsa and Tanya. Unexpectedly, Emmett and Tanya's mom was there as well.

"Hi Mrs. McCarty, what are you doing there?" Edward couldn't help but ask with a laugh.

"Oh, you know, just popped by for a visit this morning." Her grin was so big she knew she wasn't fooling anyone.

"Well," Edward said. "Bella and I have an announcement to make."

They could hear Alice and Esme squealing and their men trying to shush them.

"I knew it," Rosalie said as she fist-pumped the air.

"Bella and I are getting married."

Cheers erupted through the screens, and everyone started talking at once.

"Okay, calm down everyone we aren't quite finished yet."

With those words, Edward and Bella set down the iPad that they were holding and stood back. The families could see that Edward was wearing a suit, and Bella was wearing her beloved plaid dress that Alice had given her. She was also holding a small bouquet of Scottish Heather.

"We are getting married right now."

The chatting and squealing immediately stopped for a moment.

"What?" Alice's yell broke the silence.

"Bella asked me to marry her a couple days ago, and now we are in Gretna Green, Scotland.

"You mean, literally right now?" Rosalie asked and then she burst into tears.

"Oh Rose, please don't be upset." Bella knew the families would be a little disappointed, but she hadn't expected this reaction from her best friend. "I made the decision and didn't want to wait anymore. I feel as though I'm always waiting for something, but right now is the perfect time for this.

"Upset? I'm just so happy for you!" With that, everyone started laughing. "This is what I always wanted for you and the fact that you asked Edward to marry you..." Rosalie didn't finish her sentence because she was choking back another sob. Elsa was sitting beside her with wide eyes.

"It's okay Rosie," Elsa said while rubbing her back. "Isn't this a good thing, Dad?" Emmett was trying really hard not to laugh. "Yes sweetie, it is a very good thing."

Tanya, who rarely cried, was currently wiping her face on her Mother's shoulder. "It's just so romantic."

"Well," Carlisle interjected, "what time does the ceremony begin?"

"In about ten minutes," Edward said. "Enough time for everyone to pour themselves a glass of wine and find somewhere comfortable to sit."

"Edward, it is only nine in the morning there," Bella said.

"So that means champagne instead of wine Carlisle," Esme said.

"Don't you mean Scotch?" Tanya perked up. "This is a Scottish wedding after all."

"Liam?" Bella looked at her foster father. "You okay with not being here?"

"I am here darling. Thank you so much for making sure I was at Carl and Esme's place today. It means the world to me and I couldn't be happier for you both."

Ten minutes later, Edward and Bella's friends and family sat huddled around their computers as they watched their friends get married. For the happy couple, it was perfect. Almost like eloping but with the benefit of having the people they loved watching them exchange vows.

"Don't think you are getting out of a party when you get back!" Alice announced before they all said goodbye.

"I already have what I want, Alice, but I give you and Esme full leave to plan the party of your dreams. Just tell us the date."

Alice clapped her hands with delight and Bella knew that as soon as they disconnected she would be on the phone with Rosalie and Tanya planning something big. But for once, she didn't fear the thought of being the center of attention.

The Cullen side of the family signed out of Skype and Bella had a moment alone with Rosalie while Edward made himself scarce.

"So, are you going on a honeymoon?"

"Yes. Edward changed our return tickets, and we have a cottage booked near some remote Scottish Highland town. We're taking the train up after we are done here."

"I'm really happy for you Bella. Who would have thought all those months ago you embarrassing yourself with a little song and dance number would have led to this."

"Sometimes it doesn't seem real. His smile is real, though, and now I see it all the time."

"I bet he will be smiling a lot over the next week," Rosalie said with a wink.

Bella laughed. "I even went lingerie shopping by myself! I may have to do another song and dance number and channel my inner _Gypsy Rose Lee_."

"I have no doubt he will let you entertain him."

"What are you two talking about over here?" Edward asked coming up behind Bella.

Bella and Rosalie dissolved into giggles.

"It's time for me to go Rosie."

"Have a wonderful week. I'll try and keep Alice and Esme in check about this party or they will run wild and invite a full bagpipe band to fit with your Scottish theme."

They signed off Skype and Edward packed up the iPad. Their luggage was waiting for them at the train station.

"Are you going to tell me what you two ladies were giggling about?"

"No."

"No?"

Edward recognized the look in Bella's eye and knew there was a song coming.

" _Let me entertain you,_

 _Let me make you smile."_ She sang into his ear. _  
_

 _"Let me do a few tricks,_

 _Some old and then some new tricks,_

 _I'm very versatile._

 _And if you're real good,_

 _I'll make you feel good…_ " Edward grabbed Bella and kissed her deeply.

"I love it when you break out into song," he said against her lips. "And you always make me smile."

"Get me to The Highlands and I'll show you the dance that goes with that song." Bella winked at him.

"With pleasure, Mrs. Cullen. With pleasure."

 **THE END**

 **A/N:** Well, this is the end for our (now) happy couple. When I started posting a year ago I wasn't quite sure where this story was going and the whole process has been quite an adventure. Thank you so much to coming along with this journey and for all your comments and support. An extra special thanks goes out to **Darcysmom** who offered to Beta for me when no one knew who I was, and to **SunflowerFran** who has also been offering her red pen to make this story sound better. All mistakes are mine because I keep tinkering until the last moment.

Frannie also started up Words of Love for Meli, which you can find on this website. It is currently filled with 29 stories and poems written to cheer me up. (To say I was blown away when I found out about this would be an understatement – I think the term 'snot sobbing' would be appropriate here). So many of our favourite writers came out and contributed and some are longer stories that are going to be finished either on that page or on their own FF. Net page. I strongly encourage you to go and check it out. (The site # is 7714837.) Honestly, the support I have received from this community has been overwhelming and gives me a great reason to get healthy so I can keep writing for you all.

I know I said I would be continuing with **Double Stroller** next but sometimes, when I was struggling with this story, (or other things, like chemo) I would start a new story. The result is that I have a lot of new stories started and I'm not sure which one is speaking the loudest right now. I will try and finish something and start posting again soon. Until then, there will be a future take for this story in a couple weeks.


	34. Future Take

**Without A Smile: Future Take**

 _Careful the things you say  
Children will listen  
Careful the things you do  
Children will see, and learn  
Children may not obey, but children will listen  
Children will look to you for which way to turn  
To learn what to be  
Careful before you say "Listen to me"  
Children will listen._

A child wasn't the only one listening as Bella sang. Edward was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, the sounds of Bella singing to their daughter soothing him. Everything in him wanted to go to her and watch as she nursed their child, but he was also content to lay there and listen to her voice coming through the baby monitor. Besides, the other kids would be home from their grandparent's house soon, and then his rest would be over.

No sooner had Edward had that thought and the front door opened and he heard his oldest yelling for him, "Dad, we're home."

When Edward and Bella first got together, she was pretty convinced that she didn't want children. His advice was not to think too hard about it. He was hopeful that she wouldn't close the door completely, but if it was something she never felt comfortable with, he could do without. She was his number one priority.

However, it was less than a year after their wedding that Edward and Bella found themselves parents to not one, but two children.

Alice and Esme had convinced Bella it was time for them all to join forces and open up their own theatre. With Bella's experience, Alice's design skills, Esme's connections and fundraising know-how, the Cygnet Children's Theatre opened with only a couple months of planning. Bella initially intended to keep working at Cullen Inc., but Edward convinced her that one job was enough. He didn't want all of her time being tied up with work.

For their first production, the Cygnet Children's Theatre decided to do _**Honk!**_ A musical based on the story of _**The Ugly Duckling**_. One of Bella's favourite foster kids, Bree, was back playing the lead role. Until she had to drop out because of trouble at home. When Bella finally found where Bree had been living, she also discovered that Bree and her little brother, Riley had been placed into separate residences. Riley hadn't talked in years, and no one wanted to deal with him. At seven years old, he had been put into a big group home and was being picked on and neglected without Bree around to look out for him.

A ton of paperwork, red tape, and a lot of home visits later, Bree and Riley were together again and living comfortably with Edward and Bella. Bella took to motherhood the way she did everything else, with spirit, organization and a lot of singing.

Bree and Riley had a pretty sad story, and because of the abuse inflicted upon him before being removed from their parents, Riley's vocal chords were damaged. The whole Cullen family banded together to start learning sign language to make it easier for him. However, with the right doctors and training, he slowly began to get his voice back. After a couple years, he was feeling comfortable enough to talk all the time, although his vocal chords still got tired easily.

But once Riley started talking, he and Bree started lobbying for something they both really wanted: a baby.

At first, Edward was surprised. He figured they would be content to be the only kids in the family, especially after being bounced around from home to home all the time. But they insisted that they needed a baby to make their family complete.

After the initial shock had worn off, Bella turned to Edward and said in her nonchalant way, "Sure, why not?"

That was one of the best days of Edward's life. Followed by a couple of wonderful months of baby-making.

Now he was the proud father of two preteens and a newborn daughter.

"Dad?" Riley's soft voice carried up the stairs, a marked contrast to the heavy stomping of his feet. Edward didn't know much about Riley's birth family, but they must have been tall because at ten years old the kid was all legs and arms and looked like he wasn't going to stop growing any time soon.

"Are Mom and the baby awake?" Riley asked when Edward met him at the top of the stairs.

"She's feeding little Annie right now if you want to go see her."

Riley quickly turned and headed to the baby's room. Edward following close behind. The sight that met him warmed his heart.

Annie Grace was tucked snuggly against Bella's chest. She had obviously fallen asleep while nursing and Bella was often reluctant to put her down afterwards because Annie didn't often stay asleep. The baby had curly hair like Edward, but it was definitely redder, much like her namesake. While Riley went over and sat beside the rocking chair, Bree came into the room and gave Edward a hug.

"Hi, Dad. How's the baby doing?" She whispered.

"Oh, she's great. Mostly keeping your Mom busy. How was your weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's?"

"Busy as usual. I worked a lot on that song we've been writing. It's easier to practice there these days because I don't have to worry about waking Annie or Mom up."

Edward looked down at his oldest daughter. She may have come to him when she was ten years old but to him, that didn't make her any less his. At almost thirteen, she was as tall as Bella and still growing. People often thought she and Bella were sisters because they both had dark hair, dark eyes and looked close in age. However, Bree and Edward had a bond that can only come from being the oldest orphaned sibling to someone who wouldn't talk. They also shared a love for the piano.

"Good thinking. You want to play it for me later?"

"Won't it disturb the baby?"

"We can't walk on eggshells around Annie all the time. Besides, she is going to have to get used to how musical this family is, and maybe if we keep her up a bit more during the day she will let your Mom sleep more at night."

At a month, Annie still had her days and nights mixed up, and Bree and Riley had been spending a lot of time at their grandparents so they could get some sleep. Annie also had a strong set of lungs on her.

Looking over, he could see Bella running her hand through Riley's hair as he sat beside the rocking chair.

Riley had no desire to be on stage, but he loved helping Bella out behind the scenes at the theatre. They often joked that they should have called it the Cullen Family Theatre because there were so many Cullens involved. It really was a family affair. Bella was adamant that kids from all over the city should be able to participate, and they even had a special camp in the summer run by volunteers, for kids who couldn't afford to pay for the regular camp.

They all looked over as Annie started making waking-up noises. Riley moved the nursing pillow so Bella could stand and then she handed Annie over to Riley's waiting arms.

"She's really cute Mom, but you know you still need to have a boy too."

Bella laughed. "I do, do I?"

"Sure," Riley said. "Bree and I are two years apart. You don't want Annie to not have a little brother to look after, do you?"

Bree laughed as she walked away down the hall to her room. "She will be spoiled terribly if she's the only baby of the family!" She yelled back over her shoulder.

Riley looked down and kissed Annie's head while he said softly, "We could name him after Poppa Liam."

Edward and Bella exchanged a sad look as he walked over and took her in his arms.

"They do have a very good point, my love. This one is going to be so spoiled."

"Ugh. Talk to me when I'm not so exhausted and sleep deprived." Bella said, but she laughed.

After growing up and being bounced from foster home to foster home, Bella never thought she would have such an amazing family of her own. Knowing what Riley and Bree must have gone through in the system and being able to give them a stable and loving environment was a dream come true. Little Annie was like the icing on the cake. Bella often felt that it would be selfish to wish for more, but dreaming a little couldn't hurt she often told herself.

Edward smiled down at Bella, because what else could he do? She might be a crazed, show-tunes, singing wife (which was a thousand times better than personal assistant), but she was still the most adorable person he had ever met.

And she always made him smile.

* * *

 **A/N:** This is officially it for our couple. I hope everyone enjoyed this little peak into their future. A final thank you to **SunflowerFran** and **Darcysmom** again for their Beta skills. I can't help tinkering away until the last minute so all mistakes are mine. A big hello to all the new readers and followers who found their way to this story recently through the TwiFanFictionRecs blog. And thanks to the ladies who run that blog for recommending this story.

Have a wonderful summer everyone and hopefully I will see you again soon.


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